A Healers touch
by missmusicluver
Summary: Jezebelle is a sixteen year old girl with a history that has caught the attention of The Greatest Detective on earth. What will happen now, after she saves the Young Justice team? Dinah gets protective, Sups is worried, Bats is kind of a dick, Dick and Zatanna aren't a thing anymore, and the Martian couple is having issues.
1. Chapter 1

Epilogue: July, 2010

She sat on my lap, my little sister, with her blonde little curls of perfect pigtails.

At six years of age, she still liked to sit on my lap and play with my fingers near the open window by the fireplace. "Sing to me," she would say, staring out through the open window. "Sing to me."

With a knowing smile, I'd put my fingers threw hers and lift up our intertwined fingers before the sun streaming through our hands, and I would sing softly above her head, "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine." I'd wave our hands back and forth in front of the sun and watch as my precious little baby would smile with wonder at the changing lights.

"You make me happy when skies are gray." Sneakily, I'd pretend to bite her soft little ear at that moment, and she would shriek loudly and laugh at my silliness.

"You'll never know dear, how much I love you…"

Then I would wrap my left arm around her tiny body and press my little sister close to me. I'd sing very quietly next to her ear and say, "Please don't take my sunshine away."

Finishing our song, I would reach up our still joined hands and pretend to grab a chunk of sunshine with our right hands. When we caught it, we would close our hands very fast and bring our closed fists close to our faces to see our impossible catch. But right as we opened our closed fists, I would swoop down and kiss her on the cheek. She would shriek with a high noted laugh and rub her newly kissed cheek on her shoulder with playful disgust.

"Jezebelle! You made us loose our sunlight!" She would whine, grabbing her hands at the air, trying to re-catch her lost treasure.

I tightened my hold on my younger sister and said calmly, "it's okay Miranda, we'll catch it again tomorrow."

She would turn her head back at me and stare at me with big blue saucers. "You pinky promise?" she said holding out her three inch pinky.

"Promise," I said hooking my pinky with hers, before putting my arms back around her tightly.

She would then turn around in my lap and through her tiny arms around my neck and whisper into my ear. "You know what?" she'd ask smiling with absolute happiness on her angelic face.

"What?" I'd answer, pretending to be serious.

"I love you," she would say smiling and close to giggles. "I love you past the moon and all the stars up in the sky."

I'd smile and pull my sister close to me and engulf her into an inescapable hug. Nestled close to me, I would breathe out and whisper softly "I love you so much more."

Miranda nodded, almost to herself, and rested her head on my collarbone while collapsing on the rest of my body. I stayed silent and listened to her calm rhythmic, breathing while I leaned against the wooden chair that sat next to our window. Minutes later, I could her soft murmurs of her sleep talking and I looked down at her small blonde head with a happiness so strong and deep, you could have called it peace. Peace of mind and heart, peace inside my soul, knowing that my beautiful baby was safe within my always guarding arms.

At least, that was once my frame of mind. Little did I know that the upcoming events in my seemingly perfect life would shatter like glass hitting the floor in a single, unfair, unbiased moment.

* * *

><p><strong>HIIII ... so this will be my second FanFic, and for those of you who are following my first Fan Fic, ye i will be doing both at the same time.. though i dont think my two charecters will ever cross paths...<strong>

**...hmmm maybe they should. that would be interesting...**

**no but for right now im giving you this beginning chapter to map out the how strong this sisterly bond was. Its going to be VERY important. Very. **

**okay so Reviews are always nice :)**

**~missmusicluver**


	2. Chapter 2

"Jez!" someone says to me. "Jez, wake up!" the little girl voice says again. "Jezebelle it's time to go to school, come on let's go!" she says louder. I feel little hands push at my stomach and touch some of my bruises from last night. I flinch involuntarily and open my eyes to worried blue ones looking down at me. Blonde curls hang from her heart shaped face, and a pouted mouth thins into a smile. "Good morning!" she sings to me. Sunlight streams in my windows from behind her and light up the back of her head; making her seem like a little angel.

"Ugh," I complain, throwing my comforter over my head. "Nooooo," I say, turning my back on her.

"Jez?" she asks. "Jez, we need to get ready for school!" She waits for my reply and when she gets none, she doesn't say a thing. Instead, I feel her climb onto my side like I was a horse. "JEZZZZZ!" she yelled very loudly. "TIME TO GET UP!" Then she starts bouncing on my torso without empathy. "JEEEEEEEZ!" she yells.

I roll my eyes, knowing I wasn't going to get another wink of sleep. "Why you little monster!" I play yell, throwing back my covers and grabbing her into my arms. "You want to bounce on the bed!" I yell nearly laughing at her shocked expression. "Fine then, we bounce on the bed!" I held her close and started bouncing on my twin sized bed. My little sister screams and clings to my night shirt and neck with powerful fingers, and choking on her own laughter.

Suddenly, I flip her upside down and stop bouncing on the bed; just dangling her over my mattress. "You done bouncing?" I play yell at her again.

My sister laughs harder and I see her face start to get very red. "no!" she says still laughing, and not really breathing.

"What ?" I yell.

"NO!" she screams giggling. She lets her arms fall down under her head and laughs again.

I glance at my alarm clock and widen my eyes. "Well, to bad kid, cause we gotta go!" I set her down on my bed carefully and chase her off of it a second later.

"To the shower with you!" I said chasing her to my bedroom door, playfully hitting her butt. "Make sure you're ready to go in twenty minutes! Your breakfast will be ready and I want your shoes and backpack on in thirty minutes." I watch her go into the bathroom and close the door behind her. I hear the shower water start and I head back to my bedroom.

"What's today?" I ask myself, leaving my bedroom door wide open. I walked out to my closet and opened my door. On the inside of the door hung a batman calendar and random pictures of my sister and friends. I look up todays date and sigh. "Friday," I say walking towards my dresser. "Uniform day." I pull out a blue skirt and matching shirt with white and black letters that say 'Cheer' across the top.

I pull on my cheer uniform and look in my full length vanity mirror next to my dresser. The blue and black of the uniform brought out my dark brown hair and green eyes. My five foot ten inch frame was exaggerated by the short blue skirt that wrapped around my legs. I stare at my refection silently and examined my arms and legs; smooth, pale, and healthy looking arms and legs. I glance suspiciously at the bedroom door, but hear the sound of my sister's shower from down the hall.

I sigh outwardly and turn my attention back to the mirror. I concentrate on my skin on my arms and almost immediately blue and purple bruises rise to the top of my skin. "Wow, that guy really got me good last night," I say turning in the mirror. I had several small bruises on the tops of my shoulders and when I concentrated again, the front of my legs. I lift up my shirt to just under my chest and lifted my eyebrows in shock. On my torso were huge fist sized bruises that were a dark purple or black, and on my hip was another huge in coming bruise. I turn my back to the mirror and lift my shirt higher. I count five different bruises appear, all fresh, and all turning a dark black.

I narrow my eyes at my skin and concentrate. Yellow and green, half healed bruises appear all over my back and down the sides of my thighs and legs. There were so many new or already healing bruises, that there was barely any white skin down my back and legs.

Down the hall, I heard the water shut off, and my sister yell for a towel. I glance at my open door and then back at my mirror without emotion. I narrow my eyes again and envision my skin being all white. Immediately, my skin cooperates and my bruises go away while flawless white skin covers my body. I glance at myself once more and then run to my closet to get my white cheer shoes.

"Jez, I need a towel!" She yells at me from the bathroom.

"Then get a towel!" I say picking up my purse\backpack from the floor.

"Can you get me one please?" she asks.

I roll my eyes, exasperated, and head towards the bathroom, picking up a towel on the way there. I open up the door and steam rushes to meet me, making me blink a couple extra times. "Here," I said locating my sister in the haze. "Go get dressed in your room," I order, shooing her out of the bathroom.

I left the door open as my sister walks out and into her room down the hall. I wipe the steamy mirror down with a washcloth and without looking into the mirror; I pull my hair into a high pony tail. Then I open the medicine cabinet and apply some mascara and bronzer to my face.

"There" I told myself, "this is as good as it's gonna get." I glance at my face in the mirror, then remembering all my new bruises from last night, I look away and walked out of the bathroom, purse in hand.

"Jez, do you know where my shoes are?" my sister yells at me from her bedroom.

"Front door," I say not even turning. I walk into the kitchen and pull out two cereal bowls and some lucky charms from the cabinet. I pour milk into my bowl and leave my sisters bowl alone, on the counter.

"Miranda!" I yell. "Your breakfast is waiting for you!" I turn towards the kitchen refrigerator and pull down a piece of paper hanging from a magnet on the freezer.

I sign my signature on the space that said 'parent signature' and fill out the rest of the form while eating my cereal, marshmallows first.

Miranda came up to the counter from behind me and poured milk into her bowl. "Did you sign for my field trip?" she asks, looking up from her bowl.

"Yepp and here is fifteen dollars for you to go," I say passing her the paperwork and some money.

I smirk as she grabs the paper away excitedly. "You better behave yourself young lady, cause if I see you misbehaving, you're not going on a field trip for the rest of the year," I warn.

"Wait, you're going too?" she asks tipping her head to one side.

"Mhmm," I say eating the rest of my cereal. "Your first time going to the Wayne Industries Tour will have you walk around on the first floor for a while. After this year, you'll go every year, and see a bit more of the place with each year. Because I'm a junior, I will be on the upper level and watching a seminar for an internship that's coming up for all juniors. One from each school gets chosen."

"Are you trying to get chosen for the job?" my sister asks me.

I look up at her, and then the clock. "Oh girl, we gotta go. Mason's gonna be here in-"

Suddenly from outside, we heard a car horn beep three times. "Now," I say finishing. "Let's go," I say grabbing my book bag and Miranda grabbing hers. I turn off the lights as I get out the front door and lock the door behind me as well. "Hey Mason!" I say as I get near the car.

"Hey girl, come on and get it, we might be late if you don't hurry." Mason said. Mason was an African American with high cheek bones and gorgeous brown eyes. He had a strong dimpled chin and a straight nose that brought out his almond shaped eyes. Every girl in our school wanted him, and he knew it. But for me, he was just my best friend who played varsity football and was a year older than me. "Miranda first today right?" Mason asked.

"Yea, her field trip bus is leaving earlier than ours is," I say pulling on my seat belt.

"Alright let's do this," Mason said hitting the gas.

* * *

><p>"Master Wayne, if I may, you do remember you have the schools meeting today," Alfred said to a tall man.<p>

"For Dick? I thought his school meeting was next Friday," Bruce Wayne said looking up at the old man from his desk in his study.

"No Sir, not that school meeting. The school meeting at Wayne Industries this afternoon," the old butler reminded.

"I thought that was next month," Bruce said flipping over to his calendar and checking for himself.

"No Sir, that would be today, and Clark Kent wishes me to remind you that you promised him a quote for his article on you this week," Alfred dutifully said.

"Of course, I remember now. Thank you Alfred," Bruce said nodding in confirmation with his calendar.

"Of course Sir, but may I also remind you that you promised Dick you would drive him to school today?" Alfred said.

"Yes, I remember, I was just getting ready," Bruce said getting up from his study desk.

"Very good Sir," Alfred said leaving Bruce's study.

"Bruce is waiting for you Master Dick," Alfred said to a young man standing in the shadow s of the study door.

"Thanks Al," a sixteen year old boy says, stepping forward.

Alfred nodded knowingly, and continued down the hall. Dick Grayson stepped into Bruce Wayne's study and shook his head at his adoptive father, "You forgot, didn't you?"

Bruce looked up from collecting papers on his desk and scowled. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for school? We leave in five minutes."

"You didn't answer my question."

Bruce looked at his son for a moment and breathed out a collected sign. "I thought it was next month," he admitted.

Dick nodded with a grin. "Nice."

Bruce looked back at Dick un-amused. "Car. Now," he said with steel in his voice.

Dick grinned wider and held up his hands in submission. "Alright, but don't forget the keys."

Bruce leveled his eyes at Dick with a full Batman scare-eyes going on. Dick nodded and headed out the door with the grin still wide on his face. "I look forward to the presentation you've set up for us at 12:00 in the presentation room," he called out as he stepped through the door frame.

"Presentation?" Bruce whispered to himself.

"Heads up," Dicks voice said through the door frame.

Bruce looked up and plucked the flying USB drive from the air that was flying at him from the door way. "I took the liberty of doing it for you, considering the last few weeks," Dick's voice said down the hallway.

Bruce stared at the USB in his hands and grinned at the study door. He laughed quietly and tucked the USB drive into his coat pocket, shaking his head. From his pant pocket, his cell phone buzzed and Bruce checked the caller ID before he pressed 'talk'.

"Yes Kent?" Bruce said waking out of his study. "No I didn't forget." He made his way to the large garage and picked up the keys for his 2011 Maybach Landaulet while nodding for Dick to get in the car, who was waiting on the side lines; backpack in hand. "Yes I have the presentation." Bruce got into his car and Dick followed suit, grinning from ear to ear. "Who are you, my mother? Yes I've got it all, okay? Goodbye." Bruce closed the phone and tucked it into his jacket pocket, clearly getting annoyed second by second. "Lose the smirk Dick or I'll have you detail every car I own."

Dick immediately went sober and avoided Bruce's eyes completely, knowing he wasn't joking for an instant.

* * *

><p><strong>HAHA you get a sneak peak into Bruce Wayne's mind!<strong>

**Reviews are nice.. so don't be afraid :)**

**~missmusicluver **


	3. Chapter 3

"Alright people, keep in an orderly line and we'll be able to get through this as painless as possible," my oh-always-cheery teacher Mrs. Drake says to our class walking into the main lobby of Wayne Enterprise.

"Someone kill me," my other best friend says to me. Abrianna is sixteen years old and a half inch taller than me with long strawberry blond hair that reached down to the small of her back when it was up in a high pony tail; like it was today. She wore the same cheer uniform as me and the same white cheer shoes as well. "Seriously, we do this damn field trip every year. You'd think that she would know that we know where were going by now."

I elbow her in the arm lightly. "Let's just do this and get it over with."

"Easy for you to say, I have to find the big bad boss."

"Bruce Wayne?" I ask her raising an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Journalism. The editor wants a quote about his new fundraiser for burn victims," she says rolling her eyes. "Like I'm actually going to get the chance to talk to him!"

"You might," I say nodding towards two men who were walking towards us. One was a tall six foot three man with black glasses and black hair that was slicked back. He wore a dark blue suit with a striped tie and was holding a recorder in one hand and a Daily Planet press pass in the other. The other man was six foot two with dark black hair that sported a playboy smile at everyone he passed while talking into the recorder the other man was holding. "Go get him," I say to her, pushing her towards him.

"Right now?" she says looking at me in panic.

"Yepp," I say taking hold of her arm. "Right now." I pulled Abrianna by the arm towards Bruce Wayne and the reporter with him.

I stop a couple feet in front both men and pull Abrianna by my side. They stopped when they were close enough to notice we weren't moving. I fix my best 'cheerleader' smile and say sweetly, "Hi, Jezebelle from Happy Harbor High School Journalism and I was wondering if I could get a quote." I turn towards the man next to him and smile sweetly. "This will just take a moment."

"I'm not taking questions at this time," Bruce says stepping to the side, completely ignoring me.

I step to the same side and six a forced happy-go-lucky smile. "Well Mr. Wayne, I am very _determined_ to get a quote from you today, and I need it fast." I nod towards my teacher at the far side of the room and say, "My guides leaving." A second later I turn to Abrianna and say quietly, "Now is the time to take notes, quickly."

Abrianna's eyes widen a little and she nods while immediately taking out a small notebook and pen from her purse. "So Mr. Wayne, what was your inspiration for creating a burn victim's charity foundation?" I ask looking into his blue eyes.

Bruce Wayne tipped his head slightly as if amused and grinned his famous playboy smile. "If you're the reporter, shouldn't you be taking the notes?"

I smile right back as if amused as well. "Well, that should be the case, but fortunately for you, I am not the reporter who was assigned to you. I am the reporter's pushy friend who doesn't want her to fail her class."

Bruce Wayne nods and smiles again. "So you're doing the job for her?"

"Not at all, Abrianna why don't you ask Mr. Wayne your question?" I say dodging the millionaires judging gaze.

Abrianna flashes me a panicked look and swallows visibly. "Uh… Mr. Wayne, what was your inspiration for starting a burn victim's charity cause?"

"I believe that having the experience of being burnt badly not only causes physical injuries but also emotional injuries as well. The main aim of creating this foundation is identifying those most in need of help and providing it in a swift and practical way," Bruce says in a practiced speech.

"Well that didn't sound forced at all," I say sarcastically.

"I answered your question," Bruce said trying to side step me again.

I stepped with him and smiled again. "Not enough of them," I say.

Bruce stared at me with impatience and slight annoyance. "Why are you so driven to question him?" the man next to Bruce asks.

I stare at the reporter and lift my eyebrows, "Asks the reporter…" I say being sarcastic again.

"I think what Mr. Kent means is why you are so pushy at this," Wayne says.

"Simple," I say meeting both of the men's eyes. "If I don't get your quote, she fails her class." I point at Abrianna. "She fails her class; she gets pulled off my team. If she gets pulled off my team, I lose a base and my pyramid can't toss my flyer. When all that happens, I jeopardize my teams place in nationals." I stared at both the men with no-bullshit eyes. "Did you get all that?"

"So you take care of every member on your team so you can make it to nationals? That seems like a lot of work to do for one team captain," the reporter asks.

"Oh I'm not the team captain, I'm vice-captain for my team," I say realistically. "The team captain just makes the routine."

"Is that fair?" the reporter asks lifting an eyebrow.

"No, but she has seniority, so I can't say a thing about it."

The reporter nods and opens his mouth again, but I cut him off. "We're not here to talk about me, we're here to talk about you," I say looking up at Wayne. "And you still haven't answered my question," I say.

Bruce Wayne raised an eyebrow questioningly. "I believe I did."

"No, I didn't ask you what the main aim was of founding the foundation. I asked you what your inspiration was," I say glancing over to Abrianna to see if she was still writing.

"My inspiration?" he asks.

"Yes, that was my original question," I answer, meeting the playboy's eyes.

"Hale! Keating!" Mrs. Drake yelled from the other side of the room. "Catch up or be left behind!"

"Oh please, like we haven't been here a jillion times," Abrianna says under her breath.

"Hold on Mrs. Drake, we are getting a quote from Bruce Wayne!" I yell back.

"Now!" she yells, obviously not hearing me.

"Alright," I say looking back at both the men standing in front of us. "I'll just get back to you after your presentation. Beware."

"I'll make sure to leave immediately after to avoid your silver questions."

I smile. "Then I will just see you after I get your open internship job."

The playboy raised an eyebrow. "You're applying?"

I nod looking over to my teacher who was walking towards the lobby elevators. "It looks good on collage applications," I answer. "But don't worry; I am sure your boy wonder will get in also from his side of the school."

Bruce Wayne's face went completely blank. "I'm sorry?"

"Dick Grayson or whatever his name is. The super smart kid you adopted way back when," I say watching as my class filed into the elevators. "I'm sure he will also be picked first for your internship for the necessary requirements for the SAT honors testing."

"Wait, that's the reason you're applying for the internship?" Abrianna asks. "For the SAT honors test?"

"That's not really the point, but yea pretty much," I say watching the elevator doors close.

"You're confident about getting in," Wayne remarked.

I look back at the billionaire and shrug a shoulder. "I already know I'm at the top of the list at your internship for my school."

"How?" the reporter asks genuinely curious.

"I'm vice-captain of the varsity cheer team, I'm class president, I volunteer for community service on most weekends, and I have a GPA of 4.6." The reporter's mouth opens slightly and I add, "And I was nominated valedictorian for next year."

Abrianna nods at the reporter's expression with knowing eyes. "Yea, that's how I feel every day when I walk into school with her."

I met Bruce Wayne's eyes and was surprised to see him staring intently at me as if seeing me in a new light. "If you stare any harder, I will spontaneously combust," my annoyance slipped out harshly. Instead of getting mad at me like most people do when I lash out, Bruce just smiled slightly.

"I will see you later in the afternoon then," he says nodding at me and successfully stepping around me for the first time.

I nod, wanting to just catch up with my class and turn towards the reporter. My eyes catch the name of the reporter on his ID card and I look harder. "Cark Kent?" I ask looking up at him.

The reporter nods and I tip my head to one side. "Do you by chance happen to be related to Connor Kent?" Clark Kent's face automatically went slack in disbelief or confusion. "I'm going to take that as a yes."

"You know him?" Clark asks.

"I've met him once or twice. He's dating one of my cheerleaders, Megan Morse; just so you know," I say looking at him closer. "Connor never mentioned his dad was a reporter," I remarked mostly to myself.

"Actually, Connor never mentions you at all," Abrianna adds.

I narrow my eyes at the obvious increasing discomfort of the reporter and nod to myself. "You guys don't get along well I guess." Clark looked away from Abrianna and I. "Interesting," I say. I pause a moment to let the awkward silence sit a bit longer, but end it with a sigh and roll of my shoulders. "Well! I won't hold you from your own interview any longer Mr. Kent." I look over at the elevators in worry. "We have to go find our class in this maze of a building now."

I glance back at Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent once more before taking Abrianna's arm and racing towards the lobby elevators. I hit the up button, and jump in the elevator with my best friend right behind me.


	4. Chapter 4

"Umm… okay, I don't know about you, but I am officially lost…" Abrianna says looking from left to right.

"Are we even on the right floor?" I ask looking around, completely lost.

"I don't know you tell me!" Abrianna yells at me running up the hallway.

"Well I don't know what floor we were supposed to be on!" I yell back at her, chasing her up the hallway.

"God, how many rooms could this freaking building have!" I stop in the middle of the hall and cross my arms over my chest. "This is pointless."

Abrianna looks back at me and crosses her arms over her chest as well. "So what do you suggest?"

I tossed my head in impatience and say loudly, "We'll have to split up and find someone who knows where were supposed to be, and when we figure it out, we should call the other and tell them where they are."

Abrianna crushed her eyebrows together. "Split up?"

I nod. "Split up."

**Thirty minutes later …**

"Holy freaking crap, this is insanity wrapped up in bullshit with a side of more freaking insanity!" Abrianna complain at me threw her phone on the other side of the building.

"I know," I say stepping threw another room. "I am so totally lost; I forgot where I'm lost at."

Abrianna laughs threw the phone and breaths out a sigh. "Kay, well I'll call you when I find the-" she said. Then suddenly she cuts herself off and whispers, "What the heck?"

"Abby?" I ask worried at her suddenly serious tone.

"Oh my god…" I heard her voice whisper.

"Abby?" I ask again. "Abby!" I say nearly yelling into the phone after she didn't say anything.

"JEZEBELLE! Sixteenth floor, room C17, get here as soon as-" My best friends voice suddenly cut off and I heard static.

I drop my phone in totally fear and sprint to the elevator down the hall from me. I press the up button because I was on the thirteenth floor and wait agonizing second after agonizing second. I hit the elevator door I frustration and sprint towards the side door a couple yards down the hall. I push the door open and sprint up the awaiting stairs in front of me. "Three flights of stairs," I mumble to myself. "Sure, why not."

I through myself up the three flights of stairs as fast I could go and burst through the presented hallway. I look at the doors numbers and see I'm in section 'C'. "Hold on Abby," I say to myself.

I sprint down two more halls and look at the doors confused. "C16 … C18?" I ask myself. "What the heck happened to C17?"

Suddenly, and very loudly, came a high pitched scream of agony from the next hall to my left. I stopped breathing for a moment and throw myself at the sound of the scream. "Abby!" I yell. I turn a corner and find myself face to face with double set doors with black lettering above the door frame that said 'C17'.

"Bingo," I say to myself and burst through the doors.

* * *

><p>Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent walked into an elevator side by side; heading towards Bruce's office at the top of the building.<p>

"She was... interesting," Clark commented, thinking back to the tall brown haired girl they had just walked away from.

Bruce doesn't answer, lost in his own thoughts about the girl they had just met. "She's smart," he commented, almost to himself.

"Bruce she told us she had a 4.6 GPA, i think we covered that fact already," Clark said pulling uncomfortably at his tie.

"There is a difference between book smart and being smart," Bruce said watching the elevator doors close in front of him.

"And she's both," Clark nodded to himself.

"She is," Bruce said unblinking.

Clark nodded again and remained silent for a moment. His thoughts turned away from the girl, and he asked curiously, "So Robin's here today as well?"

Bruce glanced at his friend and nodded with a grin, knowing Clark was going to bring it up at some point. "Yes, he is here with his class from Gotham high as well as a few other schools."

Clark smiled a little and remarked, "Can't believe he's a junior this year."

Bruce glanced downward for a moment and nods. The elevator doors open for both men and he said, "Neither can I."

Bruce leads Clark into his office, past all his secretaries and people wandering around, completely at ease.

"Secure," Bruce said to the room as Clark closes the door behind him. Immediately, the room responds by flipping the artwork on the walls of the office into computer screens and sensor reading charts. Images pop onto some of the screens, and Clark recognizes some of the faces.

"Poison Ivy?" Clark asked the dark knight. He looked at some of the other screen, scrolling through the information with his eyes and folded his eyebrows together. "Working with Lex Luthor?"

Bruce nodded and pulls up some other pictures and machinery parts. "There trying to put together a machine that can destroy atoms that hold powers."

Clark looked at the dark knight. "They're trying to take away peoples powers?"

"The Justice Leagues power," Bruce adds.

Clark nods, hearing this situation nearly a hundred times over. It never worked, so it was a good probability it wouldn't work this time. "Anyone else we know who is working with those two?"

"No one else, yet," Bruce said looking over the computer monitors. "Though there are rumors that –" Bruce was cut off suddenly by a red blinking light that was coming from a nearby used-to-be-artwork-on-the-wall computer screen. "Some one's breaking into the sixteenth floor," he said to his confused friend.

"Robbery?" Clark asked looking into the screen with Bruce.

"For one of my energy modulators," Bruce agreed pulling up a security cameras point of view. Both men immediately recognized a skinny redhead with green skin blast a hole into the room they were watching.

"I'm in," Poison Ivy said pressing a finger into her ear, communicating with Lex by ear piece.

Bruce went to another screen and pulled up a signal and video camera. The video camera pulled up and a red light came forward. It blinked, and after three more blinks, Dick Grayson's face showed up, ready for anything.

"Dick, mission now in Wayne Enterprise, sixteenth floor. I'll contact the rest of the team and I expect you there in three minutes." Bruce announced.

"Right now?" Dick asked looking back and forth at the class that was behind him and around him.

"Now," Bruce answered with steel threatening to show.

Dick nodded, "Three minutes."

Dick's face vanished from the screen and Batman pulled up more screens with video cameras. Soon, Connor Kent, Megan Morse, Wally West, Artemis Crock and Kaldur 'Ahm's face's flashed on to the screens. "Leave your classes quietly, I don't care what excuse you make to them, but get to level sixteen now. We have a break in with poison Ivy and if she gets what she wants, you are all grounded from further missions."

The team's eyes widened with the force behind Batman's voice. Even though they could not see their teacher, they knew that Batman was serious. "How long?" Connor asked looking around at his class, who were surrounding him.

"Three minutes," Bruce said, then logging off from their conversation. "You go, I'll meet up with you there," he said to Clark.

"You have nearly six different schools in your company right now," Clark said, ignoring Bruce's last comment.

Bruce turned to Clark with tension. "I know."

Clark nodded and headed out the front door of the study. Bruce turned around and gave his computer screen a hard stare. Something moved in the corner of the screen and the dark knight stepped closer to the image, narrowing his eyes.

A blonde haired little girl with round blue eyes was hung in the air with green vines wrapped around her body. The little girl closed her eyes as if in pain from the vines then yelled out loud; releasing a white light of energy from her body and burning the plant.

The dark knight watched the little girl get wrapped with more vines as the older ones fell off of her completely burned. "Quiet little darling, your just here in case I need leverage," Poison Ivy said, pushing the girl and her vines high in the air. The little girl stopped trying to yell and fell silent as she watched herself get pulled higher into the air.

Poison Ivy nodded satisfied and looked back at a large vault door she had found behind a now crumbled wall. "It's thick," she commented to her earpiece. She nodded as the voice on the other end of her communicator told her something. "No, he's not here yet, but neither is the Justice League, so tell him to hurry up!" she said annoyed and placed her hands on her hips.

Bruce watched as a familiar face flew in from the two doors. "Stop," Superman told Poison Ivy.

Poison Ivy glanced at the floating hero with annoyance. "Shoo fly, don't bother me."

"Poison Ivy you –"Superman started to say.

"I said don't bother me!" Poison Ivy yelled throwing her hands at Superman. Thick green vines came upward from the ground and wrapped around Superman's feet.

Instead of ripping off the vines, like Batman had expected, Superman fell from the sky and landed on the ground in agony, unable to move. "Gotta love Luthor's dirty little secrets against you, Superwhimp." Poison Ivy wrapped more vines around him and had her vines pull him to the top of the ceiling, just hanging there."kryptonite enlaced poisons," she smiled.

Bruce ripped himself away from the monitor, seeing enough of what he needed to know.

* * *

><p>The battle was going badly, and Robin knew it.<p>

As soon as Superboy had stepped threw the doors, Poison Ivy had attacked him with, apparently, was kryptonite enlaced vines. Superboy immediately fell and was wrapped from head to toe in them, making him nearly collapse in on himself.

Megan then tried to help Superboy by running to take off the vines, but was stopped halfway there by Poison Ivy. Poison Ivy conjured a studded vine with knock out toxins and lashed her in the neck with it, making Megan roll to the ground, unconscious.

"Megan!" Kid Flash yelled, speeding to where his friend lay, becoming entangled in vines.

"Kid Flash, watch out!" Robin yelled, trying to warn his best friend.

A large vine shot out of the ground, but Kid Flash sped around the incoming vine with practiced grace. "You missed!" Kid Flash yelled to the vine obnoxiously.

Poison Ivy grimaced and had four more vines shoot out of the ground, towards Kid Flash. Kid Flash sped away, dodging all the vines, and right as he was reaching out to help Megan, Poison Ivy lashed out two toxin filled vines around Kid flashes fast legs. Kid Flash fell on his face and rolled away from where he had just landed. He got to his feet again, but Poison Ivy pulled at the vines that were still attached to his legs, making him fall on his face again.

"Kid Flash, move!" Robin yelled to his team mate.

Robin watched as Poison Ivy had her vines wrap around Flashes legs faster and higher up his body. They reached his head a second later, and Kid Flash got a full faced frontal attack of knock out gas from a bud on the vine. He closed his eyes and sank into the vines that held him, completely knocked out.

Artemis, Robin and Aqualad watched their team mates get wrapped more, and pulled to the ceiling with two other figures on the ceiling. "Batman!" Robin exclaimed recognizing his mentor on the ceiling, wrapped in vines.

"Superman!" Aqualad said recognizing the other figure there too.

"Attack together," Aqualad ordered his team. "Obviously, attacking one on one is not going to work."

His team nodded and Artemis immediately started firing off explosive arrows at Poison Ivy. Her arrows hit one of Ivy's many vines, and exploded, sending a wave of Fire around the room. The fire though, didn't stop, but exploded in the air more and more, expanding over the entire room.

"Find cover!" Robin yelled.

Robin pulled his cape over his body, as the fire came over him. Aqualad pulled water from the closest drinking fountain and sprayed it threw his arms at the closest flames that threatened to overcome him.

Artemis looked at her team mates, and jumped into the air, trying to escape the hot flames at her back. She jumped off the wall and pushed herself higher into the air. The fire followed her and as she started falling back to the ground, the fire grasped her arms and legs, burning threw the material and making her scream in pain.

"Artemis!" Robin yelled, throwing back his cape and running towards his team mate who was falling with burning clothes.

Robin jumped and caught the burning girl in his arms. He rolled as he fell to the ground and slapped the fire off of her arms and parts of her legs. "Artemis, are you-" Robin asked partway, before Poison Ivy threw thorned vines at the teenager, making him flip backwards from the older girl.

The vines retracted their thorns and wrapped around the girl, quickly pulling her to the ceiling with the other defeated heros. The burned young woman groaned and tried to fight the tight vines cross her seared flesh, but was met with knock out gas.

Robin looked upwards at his fallen friends and mentors and clenched his jaw. "Aqualad, we need to get them down from there and we need to take care of Ivy. You go left and I'll-"

For the second time that day, Robin was interrupted, but this time with a young girls scream in the corner of the room. Aqualad and Robin whipped around to the sound of the scream and widened their eyes at the sight of a young girl hanging near their friends, but wrapped around around a large dark purple and brown flower.

"Who is that?" Robin asked mostly to himself.

"An unfortunate bystander,"Aqualad answered. Robin and Aqualad glanced at each other and came to a silent agreement, rescuing the bystander came first.

Aqualad gathered the left over water from the fountain he had used before and used it to push himself in the air, closer to the little girl in the flower. "Nice try!" Poison Ivy called to Aqualad readying her hands to send another volley of vines to the eighteen year old.

Robin shot out from the darkness, and landed behind the queen of plants with expert control. "Release them all Poison Ivy, and we can take time off your next visit to Arkham Asylum."

Poison Ivy turned towards the boy wonder with an amused glanced. "I think I'll be the one telling you what to do," she said smirking at him.

Robin narrowed his eyes at the green woman and flipped back wards as she released deadly toxins from her skin. Then Ivy flicked her hand at Robin, causing thick vines to sprout from the ground and push Robin to the nearest wall with crushing force.

Robin reached a hand to his utility belt and pulled out an electric knife. He cut at the plants around him as Ivy turned her back to him with satisfaction.

Aqualad pulled up to the flower and jumped onto the vines that held the flower upright. "Do not worry little one, we will help you," he said to her, trying to calm the wide eyed girl in front of him.

"Look out!" she screamed to him, eyes wide with fear.

Aqualad turned around fast enough to get smacked in the face with an oncoming thorned vine. "Get away from my girl!" Poison Ivy yelled.

Aqualad fell from the vine in the air and crashed in to the ground with a sickening 'CRUNCH'

Robin watched his comrade fall from the sky, and winced as he hit the ground, all the while cutting the vines from his body as fast as he could.

From the other side of the room, a tall young girl with strawberry blonde hair walked threw the double set doors while talking on a phone. "Kay, well I'll call you back when I find the-" she stopped dead, and looked around the room with wide, surprised eyes. "What the heck?" she whispered into her phone.

Her eyes travelled to the tree vines with the flower on top that held the small little girl inside of it. "Oh my god..." she whispered again.

She shook her head and closed her eyes for a moment like she couldn't believe what she was seeing. She looked at Poison Ivy who had just now noticed her entrance, and then back at the flower with the girl in it with fear. "JEZEBELLE, sixteenth floor, room C17, get here as soon as-" the teenager was stopped when Poison Ivy threw a thorn from her vines at the phone in her hand, making the girl duck to the ground and the phone explode in the air.

"Holy crap, my phone!" the girl yelled at Poison Ivy. She got to her feet and brushed off her Happy Harbour High school Cheer uniform in distress. "You owe me seventy dollars Ivy!" she said to the amused women.

Robin cut the rest of the vines off of himself and dropped to his feet in a readied crouch. He snuck up towards Poison Ivy with narrowed eyes.

"Get out of here kid!" Robin yelled at the pissed off cheerleader.

"Look who's talking, boy in tights!" she yelled back at Robin.

She narrowed her eyes at the green woman and looked up at the child in the flower. "Let Miranda go," she said in a monotone.

Poison Ivy glanced at the girl nearly twelve feet above them with armored eyes. "She's mine."

The girl shook her head. "No she's not, and I guarantee you when her older sister finds out you have kidnapped her; well, hell might freeze over."

Poison Ivy levelled her eyes at the cheerleader with a crazed determination. "She is my child now."

The strawberry blonde stared at the green skinned woman for a moment then shrugged her shoulder. "Whatevs, not my funeral."

Poison Ivy grimaced at the young woman's words and glanced to her left at the approaching Robin. "Hey Robbs, you take left, I take right?" The cheerleader asked.

Robin looked at the teenager in disbelief and raised an eyebrow. "You'll just be in my way."

"Oh because your other team just helped you out so much," she commented looking around at the empty room, not yet looking upwards.

Robin narrowed his eyes. "I'll do this alone. You should go call the police."

"They're probably already on their way here," She answered, keeping her eyes on the girl in the flower.

"Abrianna!" The blonde haired child screamed in fear.

"Don't worry sweety, Jez is on her way for you," Abrianna called to Miranda in the flower.

Robin took that moment to jump on the green lady from the back. Poison Ivy and Robin fell to the ground as Robin flipped her over and smashed her to the ground. Ivy flipped to her hands and threw vines from the ground at him as she got her feet back under herself. Robin threw himself to the side as the vines flew past him.

Ivy laughed and turned back to the vault. She threw dark green bulks of plant and shoved them into the edges of the vault door. Robin ran at her and put a bat-arang in the bulk of the plants trying to open the vault door. A second later, the plant exploded and Ivy was thrown to her back.

Abrianna stayed on the sidelines, knowing that the Robin boy was probably right; she would just get in the heroes way. So instead of going after the big and bad green poison chick, she went after the only thing that mattered personally to her; her best friends little sister.

She jumped on to the vines that held Miranda in the air. "I'm comin honey," she said to herself. She jumped and climbed over twisting roots and vines and slowly but surely made her way up the large tree like vine that held Miranda.

Robin on the other hand, was having trouble making Ivy surrender or even stop. Every time he got close to Poison Ivy, he would have the upper hand at hand to hand, and weaken her for a moment, but then she would distance herself from him and send several pissed off poisonous vines from poison-mommy-dearest.

Robin took down the latest batch of vines from Ivy, and ran at her full force. He sent her a high flying kick towards the head, but instead of landing on her face, like it was supposed to, his kick landed on a thorned vine that sent a spiral of pain down his leg.

Robin stepped back, but was stopped by a wall of thick thorned vines that were building up around him. "Night birdy," Poison Ivy said from across the room. Then before Robin could do anything, every pore in every branch opened up and released tons of knock out gas. Robin stayed on his feet for a moment longer, but then crashed to the floor, unconscious.

Ivy smirked in satisfaction and said slowly, "Eight down." She looked at the girl that was scaling her baby towards her captive and grimaced. "One to go." Remembering her original objective, she called her plants to force the vault door open again before turning to the annoying cheerleader.

"Down little girl," Ivy said angrily throwing her hands at the teenager, releasing one very thick vine at the girl.

The vine hit Abrianna in the stomach, making her loose her footing on the plant and fall to the ground. Abby rolled as her feet hit the ground, remembering her cheerleading training. She grimaced as she got to her feet, annoyed at the thought of having to climb that plant thing all over again.

"Bye bye," Poison Ivy sang to the young woman. Then willing a single vine to her, she plucked off a thorn from the vine and threw it at Abrianna with deadly accuracy.

The thorn shot into Abrianna's left shoulder with a sickening 'GUSH' and blood started to fall from her shoulder uncontrollably. Abrianna was pushed backwards from the force of the hit and screamed in agony as poison from the thorn started to spread throughout her body.

* * *

><p>Superman and Batman's eyes opened immediately at the sound of the young women's screams from below. They were still dangling from the ceiling, and apparently, so was most of the team. Batman located Robin unconscious on the floor below him and the origin of the scream.<p>

"We have got to get her out of here," Superman said, twisting in the kryptonite vines.

"Wait," Batman said, calming Superman. He looked towards the front of the room where the double doors sat untouched. Superman followed his eyes and waited.

The double doors in the front of the room shot open in a 'Bang', and Superman raised an eyebrow. How did this guy do that?

From the doors stepped in a five foot ten inch tall teenager with a yellow and black cheer leading uniform on. She had dark brown hair that was tied up in a high pony tail and green eyes that were flashing with worry.

She was the young women Superman and Batman had just been talking to downstairs, in the main was her name? ... Jezebelle? What was she doing _here_ in all places?

"Jezebelle, she has Miranda!" the other teenager screamed, holding her shoulder in pain.

"Abby?" Jezebelle said widening her eyes. Then her friends warning sunk in and she scanned the room in a panic. Finding her little sister in the flower at the top of the vine like tree; she visably narrowed her eyes in anger.

"I want to watch this," Batman said narrowing his own eyes.

The cowl Batman wore covered his expression, but Superman saw him stare intently at the brown headed cheerleader. "Batman she's in danger!" Superman exclaimed.

"Is she?" Batman asked, eyes never leaving the brave or possibly insanely stupid cheerleader.

Superman crunched his eyebrows together and stared back at the girl below them. What did he mean? Of course she was in danger. That girl couldn't take on a fully fledged supervillan... could she?

Superman said nothing, but watched with Batman while the young teenager leveled her eyes at Poison Ivy.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry this chapter is so long guys! it's like 10 pages in Microsoft.. sooo yeaaa.<strong>

**So yea the summary of this all was Abrianna(pretty name right!) and Jezebelle get lost from there school group and Abby comes cross Poison Ivy kicking young justice leagues butt and trying to steal a part of machinery for LEX LUTHOR. Then Batman and Superman wake up from the knockout gas when Abby screams after getting shot with a thorn. THEN comes in Jezebelle to save the day... or completly get her ass kicked... **

**AND YESSS i know i haven't explained the reason why she has her bruises from the night before, but i PROMISE im getting to it. i just have to map this whole plot out first. **

**So comments are always helpful to set me and my perspective straight. DONT BE AFRAID OF THE BUTTON!**

**~missmusicluver**


	5. Chapter 5

I burst in the room, and nearly dropped my jaw like some cheesy horror movie. Vines were **everywhere** in the room; hanging from ceilings, bursting out of the floor and hanging on the walls. It reminded me of a warzone._What the flying-_

"Jezebelle, she has Miranda!" A familiar voice screams at me. I look at the origin of the voice and widened my eyes in complete shock. Abrianna was on the floor holding her shoulder that was bleeding a river flow of red blood, and supporting herself upwards with her other hand on the floor. Her voice begged me to understand what she was saying, but I blinked twice before understanding hit me.

_Miranda._

My eyes land on a tall, green, plant that was behind her. It was thick, thicker than herself length wise and nearly reached the top of the high ceiling. On top of the very tall plant was a flower, some kind of purple and brown daisy, but inside of it held a blue eyed blonde haired little girl with terror written across her face like an open book. I narrow my eyes at the flower.

_That's my little girl. That's MY little baby._

I turn my heads towards a green skinned woman that stood up at my entrance. She wore very little except a plant like leotard that barely covered her chest. She had flaming red hair that reached just above below her chest and she had very bright green eyes. Her eyes traveled up and down at me as if to assess what she was about to destroy.

She smirked.

I level my eyes at her. _What a bitc-_

She jumps at me. I widen my eyes and fling myself backwards as she lands where I just stood. She snaps her head back at me and smiles as if I were her prey. "So you're the sister?" she asks in a light voice as if not really looking for an answer.

I don't give her the satisfaction of one.

She sways her hips in a hypnotic motion and walks towards me with a small smile. The air around her shimmers as if filled with an invisible gas. "You should just leave well enough alone, and go home little girl," she says to me, smiling sweetly. She gets very close to my face and whispers to me, "You should forget you were ever even here."

_I should forget… I should forget… I should …_

I shake my head vigorously. _What the fug nuggets was I just thinking? That's my sister!_

I breathe in again, and my head swims in a soft light of an almost blissful mist. What had I been thinking? Just walk away? Oh, I should just go away and leave… forget what I … what I had said…

I blink again, and Poison Ivy's expression changes from sweet to victorious, like she had just won a battle or big prize. _What the hell is she smirking at,_ I think to myself in the haze.

"What the hell are you talking about you crazy loon?" I ask stepping away from her. _Why am I so confused? Why am I hesitating? Why am I-_

Suddenly I realize my mistake and stop breathing inwards. Almost immediately, my vision clears and my mind starts working furiously. _Think Jezebelle! THINK! What do you know about her? What is she capable of?_

I glance upwards and Poison Ivy is taking a step towards me again, stalking me like the predator she is. She smiles in a twisted smirk and moves towards me again. The air around her shimmers heavily, and she-

_That's it! _I think back to a news article I had read on Poison Ivy after she had attempted to destroy a lead factory in Southern Gotham. _She controls people with pheromones! The haze around her…_ the dots begin to line themselves together and I take another step back.

_Get away from the pheromones!_, I yell at myself inside my head. I swallow the breath in my chest and back flip away from the approaching villainess, twice. I suck in a much needed breath and run away from the oncoming villain.

_Think of a plan genius!_ I yell at myself. _She's got Miranda, Abrianna's bleeding like there's no blood left for tomorrow and a feared villain is chasing after you. THINK GOSH DARN IT!_

I watch as Poison Ivy raises her hand summoning vines from the floor to rise up in submission to the green skinned woman, then wordlessly, she points at me.

Wonderful.

I weave my way through her oncoming smack down, barely breathing and concentrating on figuring out just what the hell I was going to do.

_Knock her out? Save Miranda? Help Abrianna? Or-_ My thoughts are interrupted by my running feet tripping over something big. And honestly quite heavy. I land on my palms and knees as the breath rushes out of me like a fish on the sun. I gasp inwardly and turn my head to my feet. My eyebrow goes upward as I recognize the colorful body I had just tripped over. Robin. Boy Wonder. HOOOOOOOOOOOLY SHIZ NIPS ON ICE.

What the heck was he doing here? And unconscious on the ground no less! I turn my head away from Robin and locate Poison Ivy across the room from me. She threw me a terrifying grin of undoubted victory and I swallowed. _Suck it up and move!_ I said to myself, untangling myself from Robin.

Looking down at Robin, and then looking back up at the oncoming crazy lady, I grabbed Boy Wonders arm and threw it around my shoulder; pulling him to the furthest side of the room. Why I was doing this for him instead of my best friend? Well that was beyond me. We made it to the side of the room and I dropped the teen on his butt and leaned him against the wall as carefully as I could. I put two fingers to his neck and checked for some sort of pulse. I felt an irregular heart beat and I crunched my eyebrows together in confusion. _He was unconscious, so why did his heart feel like it was going 100 miles an hour?_ I pull away from the teen and glance at the center of the room. Ivy wasn't looking at me, but up at the flower she had placed around my sister.

I follow her eyes and smile without thought. Inside the flower, my sister was using a technique I had taught her from my mentor in 'self defense' I had learned when I was eight. She was using her body weight and momentum to slam against the walls of the flower that held her captive. _She's making a distraction for me._ And I was going to make the most of it with the time I had.

I glance back at the unconscious boy and then sprinted towards the other side of the room towards my bleeding best friend. "Abrianna," I say literally sliding up next to her.

Abrianna opens her electric blue eyes at my voice. I pull her into my arms, careful not to touch her shoulder. "Jez?" she asks, squinting her eyes at me. "I can't see you Jez, there's three of you."

_She was poisoned,_ I think to myself. Abrianna was covering her injured shoulder with her right hand and I gently remove her blood covered hand away from her wound. I grimace as I take in her injury with my practiced eyes. A two inch wide bloody thorn end stuck out of Abby's shoulder with blood coursing round it. From the center of the thorn was a bright green core that was pulsating the bright green core venom to the outside of the thorn, releasing the poison into Abby's body.

"Abby, I'm going to have to take out the thorn. I'm sorry, but don't scream for me kay?" I whisper quickly. Then without warning, I put my left hand at the edge of the thorn and pull as hard as I can at the thorn. The thorn comes out grudgingly from Abby's shoulder and Abby convulses upwards in complete pain. I wince in sympathy and throw the thorn away from us. I examine the wound closely and whisper to her soothingly, "It's okay Abby, just breath. Just breath hun, you got this like your back spring."Abby choked out a laugh for me despite her pain and I smile back with a small smile. "Abby, the thorn was poisoning your blood, and by the time an ambulance gets here, it could be too late for you."

Abby looks me in the eyes and grimaces slightly. "Then fix me Jezebelle." She gasps out loud and closes her eyes in pain. "I know you can and it's time you can clean about what you can do when I came clean months ago."

I swallow and look down at her bleeding wound without emotion. "Don't fight the change you feel. You're gonna feel really hot and then really cold, but just remember to breath and keep your mind blank for me okay?" I ask her.

Abby opens her eyes and nods, clenching her jaw, unable to say anything.

I nod to myself, as if encouraging my falling optimism in this situation. "Okay," I say placing my hand over her gaping wound. "Stay still," I order her before closing my own eyes.

Immediately, I feel her heartbeat threw my hands and in my mind, I see the blood in her veins flowing threw her shoulder. Small green cells with sharp spikes attach themselves to the red blood cells while they flow down their decided paths in her arm. I sink deeper into my subconscious and concentrate on the green cells flowing freely throughout my friend's body. I furrow my eyebrows together and will myself to release a part of myself through my hands. Immediately, I see a white light shoot threw Abby's veins; disintegrating every green cell it touches. I push myself to direct my flow of healing throughout the rest of Abby's body and when I am sure that all of the poisonous cells were out, I focus on the muscle and skin to heal next. The muscle was always harder to heal, but I manipulated my constant flow of energy to help the natural healing on Abby's arm. The muscle formed back together before my mind and I turned my attention to Abby's delicate white skin. I pressed the skin cells together in my mind, and I watched in my head as her skin came together in a red line. With soothing from me, the outer layer healed into a full, white patch of newly formed skin.

I released a sigh I didn't know I had been holding in, and open my eyes to blue eyes looking up at me thankfully. "Thanks Jez," she says to me in a controlled whisper.

I nod and pull her to her feet with her arm around my shoulders. Like Robin, I pull my best friend to the side of the room; propping her up against the nearest wall. "Sit tight for a couple of minute's girl; I'll be back for you soon."

"You're gonna take her on?" Abby asked widening her eyes slightly before falling back into half open eyes.

I stare her straight in the face and say, "This has gone too far. No one touches my best friend, and then threatens my sister without getting their dumbass's kicked by me."

Abby narrows her eyes at me with caution filled eyes. "Be careful," she warns me, then collapsed against the side of the wall.

I nod at her closed eyes and turn towards the distracted Poison; severely pissed off. Miranda had been successfully put holes into the flower she was being held captive in, and Ivy was getting madder and madder by the minuet. "Stop it you wrenched child!" she yells at my sister, stamping her foot in frustration. She looks upwards, not even noticing me and throws a couple of vines up to my sister, to hold the falling apart flower together.

I pick up the thorn from Abby's shoulder of the ground, which was still covered in her blood, and walked over to Poison Ivy. "Leave my sister alone!" I yell and throw the large thorn straight at Poison Ivy.

She turns around and jumps out of the way, but not fast enough. The thorn sliced through the outside of Ivy's left arm as she twisted away. Ivy shrieks in fury and covered her new wound with her right hand. She glares at me in hate and summoned a large, thorned, and possibly poisonous vine from the side of the wall. She threw her arm out to me and the vine followed its' mistresses direction. Straight at me.

I stay in my position and when the vine grew too close for comfort, I twist to the side and flip into the air and away from the floor, onto the left side of Poison Ivy. Ivy's eyes follow me and she narrows hers when she saw how close I was to her. I met her eyes and grinn like a fool. Ivy scowls back and runs at me.

Big mistake.

Mentor Shoi's training kicked in and I clear my mind.

I got into a horse stance and waited for Poison Ivy while I center myself in mind and body. She came at me with a flying punch and I lean backwards like the freaking matrix. Her punch flew past me and I struck outwardly with my leg at her midsection while using my momentum to flip myself backwards. The air was knocked out of Ivy and she fell to her knees. I jump forward at the open opportunity and strike her hard across the face with my close fist.

Ivy flies backwards and rolls away as I advance. She twists to her feet and she appraises me with new eyes. She knew now that I knew what I was doing, and I was beginning to be a threat. _Dayum right I'm a threat to you_, I think.

Ivy steps carefully to the left, and I mirror her actions; leaving her no choice but to attack me. She obliges with no regrets. She springs at me with flying fists and weaves away from her and went on the defense. With every punch, I counter, never letting her touch me. Her fists became faster and I started to feel the old bruises from last night start to hurt.

_I won't last long if we keep going at this pace_, I think countering another punch. Ivy ducks down and aims a high kick at my head. I swerve away from her leg at the last moment and hit her in the thigh as her foot came down. Ivy grimaces at the pain surely shooting threw her leg at the moment and I went through my own high kick to her face. Ivy ducks just in time and I allow my momentum to turn myself onto my other foot and throw another high kick almost immediately after my first. Poison ivy wasn't so lucky the second time and she fly's after my foot makes contact with her face.

Ivy lands on the floor with an audible 'THUD' and I walk up cautiously to the unmoving woman. As I approach, Ivy twists and looks up at me from the ground. She hits her fist to the floor, and green moss springs up from the ground. "Night," she says to me smirking.

Instantly, the green moss emits knock out gas into my air and makes contacts with my lungs. I waver on my feet for a moment, then … I smile.

"Nice try," I say giving her my own smirk. I walk through the still emanating gas and stand over the green skinned woman. "You may not have noticed, but I'm not like the others you bet down on." I say evenly. "My power also gives me an immune system that could rival yours Poison Ivy. Your poisonous gas and pheromones will only work on me for a good couple of minutes until my immune system kicks in and then I'm immune to your crap _forever_." I tip my head to one side, figuring out my own immunity to her poison so fast. Then it hits me.

"I was immune to your gases because of your stunt with my friend when you attacked her with that thorn of yours," I say figuring it out as I speak. "When I healed her, I was also brought into contact with your poison, so my immune system was already fighting it off when we were fighting." I shook my head in wonder. "Man, this is creepy."

Poison Ivy looked up at me with her green eyes. "You do know that if you have the same immune system as mine, you will most likely endure the same curse that I do for our blessed body; to never have children," she says staring at me with almost pity.

I shrug my shoulders indifferently. "My mother had the same gift as me and she had me and my sister."

Ivy narrows her eyes in … jealousy? She grimaced at me and lifted her hands at me. "So I'll just have to hit you with every poison I know until I kill you," she says defining herself to me.

I widen my eyes, and before she could even twitch, I kick her hard across the face, instantly knocking her out. Poison Ivy's head falls to the ground and her hands fell beside her half a second later. I stare at her for a moment and breathe out a sigh of relief. _Damn that was close. _

"Jez!" my sisters voice yells at me. I immediately look up to my sister, standing in the flower. "Help!" she yells pounding on the walls of the flower.

Instantly, I run as fast as I can and throw myself into the air and onto the plant holding my sister. I climb as fast as I could up the plant, using the thorns as foot holds up the vine. I reach the top and I place my hands on the flower, feeling for a weak spot. On the corner of one of the petals, the flower was starting to fray because of the lack of energy from its' mistress. I took that as an opportunity, and began pulling at the petal as hard as I could. Soon half of the petal was torn away and my sister was able to slip through to me. I pulled her by the arm way from the flower and held her tight to me as we climbed down the flower. She landed on the floor before me and I was behind her half a second later. We took a couple of steps away from the flower and then I abruptly turn her around to face me by the arm.

Miranda is the first to speak. "Jez, I know you said that if I got into trouble on this field trip then I wouldn't go on anymore for the rest of the year, but this really wasn't my-" she says trying to explain.

I interrupt her by getting on my knees in front of her and throwing my arms around her. "God, I thought I was going to lose you."

"I can't leave when you're always there to stop me," she says accepting my hug and squeezing me almost as hard as I was squeezing her. She buries her head onto my shoulder and I held her while Miranda started to sniffle in the crook of my neck. "I t-thought you weren't gonna beat her Jez. I t-thought that she was gonna win and I was gonna lose you," she says completely breaking down into my neck. Her shoulders shook and she began to cry fearlessly at the last thirty minutes of stressful time she endured.

I got to my feet and I picked up Miranda onto my hip like she was still three years old. I let her cry into me and held her while resting my head on the top of hers. I rubbed her back, knowing there was nothing I could say to her and that she just needed to break down on me. Abby appears behind Miranda's head a couple yards away and I put my fingers to my lips; motioning for her to keep quiet while Miranda sobbed. Abby nods and continued to walk towards my sister and I.

"We need to call the police and get someone to take care of her," Abby says nodding her head at the unconscious Poison Ivy.

Miranda stops crying and she lifts her head from my shoulder as she heard Abby's voice. She sniffles and says consciously, "Sorry."

I smile. "Don't apologize sweety. You did nothing wrong." I look at Abby and nod to her. "But Abby is right. We need to call the police and have the Justice League handle the rest of this."

Abby nods and I flinch inwardly to myself. Covering Abby's entire chest was her own blood on her cheer uniform. "Miranda, give your sweater to Abby so she can take off her shirt and put that on." I turned to Abby and ordered, "Abby take off your cheer shirt and use it to wipe the rest of your blood from your arms and shoulders. Then you can use Miranda's sweater to wear instead of your shirt. But I want the zipper zipped over _everything_ you have to show," I say raising an eyebrow for her to catch on.

"I get it, no revealing skin!" she says raising her hands in the air as if surrendering.

I nod. "Then we need to get rid of that shirt and make sure no one ever ever finds it."

Abby nods. "You don't want the Justice League or the cops to find out we were here," she said it as a statement.

"It's not we have anything to hide, it's just that I would rather not be involved with either of them for as long as possible in my life," I state shrugging my shoulders. "Plus, I don't want them to know were meta-humans."

Abby nods understanding. "No it's okay, I totally get you." Miranda hands her sweater to Abby and she accepts it gratefully.

I toss my cell phone to Miranda. "Call the police and tell them Poison Ivy broke into Wayne Enterprise. Tell them that she's unconscious, but they need to come as fast as possible." Miranda nods and opens the cell phone in hurry.

"You don't want me doing it?" Abby asks removing her cheer shirt, leaving her in only a bra.

"No, I want you to tie up Poison Ivy with anything you can find, just in case she wakes up and I have to knock her out again," I answer.

"And what are you gonna do?" Abby asks, pulling on the sweatshirt and zipping it up.

"Just some stuff," I say absently walking away. From the corner of my eye, I see something move. I turn towards the motion, and stare at empty space. And then suddenly, something happened again. I crunched my eyebrows together in confusion and in the background I hear my sister talking to the police. I walk toward the mysterious motion and I happen to notice something on the floor ahead of me.

A puddle… of blood.

My eyes widen in surprise, and suddenly, a drop of blood falls from the sky; alerting me of what the earlier motion was and drops into the puddle. I stare at the puddle at my feet for a moment, and then look upwards.

Above me hung person after person wrapped in vines on the ceiling. My eyes widen and I'm sure my jaw dropped a little. _What the flying-_ Another drop of blood fell from the sky. I stare harder at the bodies above me and deducted that one body in particular must be the one bleeding. It had long blonde hair and was wearing a green mask, and from all my knowledge of the super heroes, this one was called… uh… Artemis? I think.

I look away from the bodies on the ceiling and look at my little sister and Abby. Miranda closes the phone and announces to me, "They're coming now."

"Poison Ivy's all tied up," Abby announces a moment later, walking up to Miranda and I.

"Good, now both of you go to the lobby floor and wait for the police to get there. When they do, make sure to stay out of the way and out of sight until you find your classes, do you understand?" I ask both of them.

"You're not coming with?" Abby asks. I shake my head and push Miranda towards the door. "Look behind me and then up at the ceiling." Abby followed my instructions and widened her eyes and dropped her jaw. "Yea, that's what I said. Now get Miranda out of here before she see's. She has seen enough already."

Abby nods in understanding and takes Miranda by the arm out of the room. I hear them leaving down the hall and turn back to the bodies on the ceiling.

Now what?

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><p><strong>Oh DAYUMMM how she gonna save Young Justice?<strong>

**Yes i talked bout her bruises again and now there's this mentor she used to have called 'Mentor Shoi'? well people don't be so confused! answers are coming, im just drawing them out *muahahaha* no not really, but yes the answeres are coming!**

**so what did you think of Poison Ivy? **

**okayyy Review or questions, just u know... REVIEW!**

**nighty night.**

**~missmusicluver**


	6. Chapter 6

**For those of you who haven't figured it out yett, yes i have tweaked all the character's ages to fit my story better.. so don't get to confused on me K?**

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><p>I had no idea what I was going to do. Absolutely no idea, at all.<p>

I stared at the bodies above my head and twisted my head farther backwards to get a better look at the scene above me. _Not good, _I thought to myself. _Too high in the sky and no way to get up without- _I glanced at the vines on the wall. _Ahhh crap._ I shake my head and sigh loudly. _Now I have a way to go save their dumb asses. _

I make my way towards the left wall and stop unexpectedly. _Okay so when I get up there, how am I supposed to cut them loose? Use my bare hands on a foot wide plant?_

I grimace at my lack of weapons and scan the room for potential choices. I saw half torn vines, rubble of the floor, more vines, more vines, and then an unconscious Robin, leaning against the wall I had sat him near. Then feet from where Robin sat, I saw a dim shine of metal on the floor. I squinted my eyes at the small object and I grinned. _Perfect, _I thought. I ran to the object on the ground and scooped it up in my hands.

I held between my palms and fingertips a slender metal knife that had a small spark of electricity run threw it every few moments. I grinned wider and ran back to the left wall I had been at moments before. Placing the handle of the knife in my mouth, I began climbing the vines nearly in an expert fashion. I reached the ceiling in under two minutes and from there, I began to climb sideways towards the heroes strapped to the wall.

The first body I came upon was the one I needed to heal, the bleeding Artemis. I dug my feet into the vines and clutched the vines as tightly as I could with my left hand and used my right to cut the vines with the knife. Her bounds became shreds after a few moments and I put the knife back in my mouth quickly, while she leaned forwards, bout to fall off the ceiling. I caught her with my right arm right as she was falling off and I used her momentum to swing the dead weight onto my back. I gasped in a labored breath as she hit my back and I used every muscle in my body to not drop the unconscious girl as I started to climb my way back downwards, one handed.

I got to the floor after a couple of excruciating minuets and I dumped the body to the ground as carefully as I could. I took a deep breath from my little trip and got to my knees before the body. First I checked her pulse by slipping my fingers under the material over her neck. I could have just pulled back her mask entirely, but I dismissed the thought immediately, knowing it was not my place to know the heroes identity without her approval.

Seeing that her heart was in fact beating, I glanced over her entire body for major injuries. Artemis wore a no sleeved green tank top looking shirt that exposed her lower stomach. Across all of the entire uncovered skin were deep burn marks that shone bright red and were bleeding from several places. Pockets of her skin were inflated near the edge of her shirt, and I recognized them as second degree burns. _Please tell me It's just the stomach,_ I thought lifting up the lower part of her green shirt.

Despite my plea, I rose her shirt farther up her midsection only to find a large round burn starting from the tip of her hip to farther up beyond my reach of the skin I had exposed. _Crap._ I pulled the knife up from the floor and cut the teenagers shirt in half from the bottom of her shirt up to the bottom of her chest.

The clothes separated easily and I examined her burn marks with a careful eye. Thankfully, there were no third degree burns on her stomach, but it was layered with second degree burns from some sort of blast. _God this must have hurt._

Swallowing the bile that threatened to rise to my mouth, I placed my hands on her burn marks scorching her stomach. I let my subconscious sink into her body and I felt that I was wrong about her burns only being on her stomach. They were also present on the small of her back and across her thighs and parts of her arms. She was just a mess of burns. I closed my eyes and sent out a numbing chill through the top layers of her skin.

Underneath my hands, I felt Artemis's breathing slow to a normal pace. Now that she couldn't feel her injuries, I widened my fingers across her skin, and breathed out in concentration. I focused on the muscles underneath her burns first; manipulating them to grow back normally and stretch out in full health. Her arms, legs and back responded immediately, but her stomach was the last to cooperate, having me focus even harder on trying to make the muscles above her internal organs heal. Then I focused on the poison that had entered her blood stream from the vines being wrapped around her for so long. I attacked the green cells in her blood flow and exterminated any lingering green poisons from the rest of her body. Finally I pulled my attention to her inflamed and irritated skin. I cleansed the skin of any possible infection and in my mind I pictured her skin coming together and healing the open sores and burnt skin.

Underneath my hands, I felt the skin moving to my orders and as I opened my eyes, I saw her skin coming together and leaving faint pink lines from where the burns used to be. Using my will, I encouraged the skin to erase the pink lines that were still on her; making her stomach scar free and completely whole again. I focused with the same will onto the other parts of her body and soon, her entire body was healed beneath my fingers. I flicked her stomach with my left hand fingers to see if the skin would hold against injury. Hard stomach muscles hit my fingers and I grinned at my accomplishment. _Man, that girl got some serious abbs. _

"You probably shouldn't do anything life threatening for the next day and a half if you can avoid it," I counseled to the unconscious teen. Then stepping away from her, I looked up at the hanging bodies from the ceiling. _Now what am I going to do about the rest of you?_ I asked myself placing my hands on my hips.

I stare intently at the ceiling and the next closest victim on the wall was a dark skinned man with blonde hair and a red shirt with gills on the side of his neck. _Gills. So I'm gonna go on a limb here and say he's Aqualad. _Staring at him harder showed me that he was seriously hurt. His shoulder was wrapped around with vines, but even I could tell something was very wrong with his bone structure in his left side.

I made a snap decision, and without thinking, I grabbed the knife off the floor again and jumped onto the vines on the walls. I climbed as fast as I could to the tattooed man, and within a minute, I was next to him and cutting at the binding around his arms and legs. I put the knife handle in my mouth again and rip the remaining vines from around him with my hand. As he fell, I caught him and swung him onto my back as I did with Artemis, but he was a whole lot heavier. The breath was nearly knocked out of me when his body weight slammed into mine, and I had to force myself not to drop the Atlantian to the floor when I started to climb back down.

We both made it to the floor and I struggled to keep myself upright as I deposited the body to the ground carefully. I breathed in strong gasps of much needed oxygen as I looked over the young man in front of me. He had gills on both sides of his neck and fin like objects in the back of his calves while sporting webbed hands and bare feet. "You're half fish," I said out loud, almost in exasperation. I swallowed and breathed deeply. "Well this should be interesting."

I got down on my knees before the body and examined the Atlantian. His left shoulder was a mess of dark purple bruising and red blood from the bone popping out of the arm. It looked like he had fallen from a serious height if he had such horrible bruising. I closed my eyes and entered with my subconscious into his wounds.

The Atlantian's shoulder was broken in two places and the soft tissue around his joint was cut in different places. His arteries were clogged with white blood cells, making me think the poison was already on its way through his body. His shoulder was swelled enormously and I winced at his pain I could feel from his body.

I clenched my jaw together and put my hands on his shoulder. I let myself fall deeper into his pain and I realized with a sudden jolt that his ribs were also broken. One of his lower ribs was completely broken away and had punctured his lung. I widened my eyes knowing that blood was pouring into his lungs and suffocating him slowly. I stopped breathing momentarily and focused my released energy into the rib and punctured lung.

I concentrated on pulling the rib out of the lung and back onto the original limb, when I felt an electric shock course threw his body and knock into me, making me release him in sudden pain and gasp in shock.

_Did his body just reject my healing?_ I thought in wonder and pain; clenching my hands back and forth, trying to get the feeling back in them.

_His body just electrocuted me!_ I thought back at my actions and my sudden knowledge of him slowly being suffocated, and my mind snapped back into place. _I don't have time for this! He's going to die if I don't heal that lung!_ I put my hands to his skin again and immediately, I felt a crippling electric shock rock threw my body; sending me flying backwards and sliding away from him.

I got up slowly from the ground, my body screaming in protest and agony from its newly friend nerves. I swallowed hard at my sudden dizziness and shook my head while walking back over to the dying man.

I didn't touch him again, but instead I stared at him and thought in a hurry. _What the heck did I do wrong? Artemis's body didn't spaz out on me like that! Why is this fish boy's body barbequing me when I try to heal his freaking fishy lungs! He isn't even- _And then suddenly, I dropped my jaw at my own idea and stupidity. _Fish boy. Water. Riiiight…_

Turning away from the young man, I scanned the room for any water drains or options. In the corner of the room was a water fountain that had apparently exploded and was releasing water to the ground like a flashing sign that said 'Fish Boy's Healed Here and Only Here!' I turned back to the Atlantian and sighed. _Being a good Samaritan sucks._

I walked over to the body and said before hand to him, "Sorry, this might hurt a little." Then I picked up both his feet and dragged him as fast as I could to the water fountain across the room. After a lot of huffing and puffing, I managed to pull him into the puddle of water and place him in a position where his entire backside was touching water.

Feeling satisfied I wouldn't get electrocuted; I placed my hands on his chest and let my emotions carry me to his wounds. I found the broken rib again and I managed to pull it out of his lung while healing the opening in the lungs muscle walls. Next, I directed the blood to leave threw the still open lung walls and dry out the lung of any other blood inside of it.

The lung was healed and before I moved back to the shoulder I reconnected the broken rib to its limb and healed the other cracked or broken ribs on the left side of his chest. I paused to make sure he was breathing, then moved my way up to his shoulder in a hurry.

It had been some time since my sister had called the police and I didn't want them catching me here, so I moved to just get this done and leave as fast as possible.

I examined the shoulder and sent out my healing into first the broken bone, making them reconnect and mend stronger than ever. I then focused on the tissue around the shoulder, mending the shredded segments of ripped tissue along the joint. I lifted his arm slowly to see if the joint was able to move and I sighed in relief when the joint rotated properly. I placed his arm down again and decided to take care of the poison in his blood stream.

I narrowed my mind down to his blood cells and found the spiky green cells. Like his friend, I focused my will and I ran my energy threw his blood stream, killing all the poison from his body and at the same time lowering the swelling in his shoulder. Satisfied I had removed the threat of blood poisoning, I moved on to healing the broken arteries near the now mended bone. I tightened my grasp of my will and sent small slivers of energy to the outside walls of the arteries in question. I mended their broken walls and supported the blood to go through its healed arteries.

Coming to the last part of the healing, I opened my eyes and stared at the broken skin of where the bone had poked out not minutes before. I placed my hand above the broken flesh and imagined the skin was whole and smoothed together. Before my eyes, the skin came together and left no trace of a pervious wound. I smiled lightly at my accomplishment and stood up.

Instantly, I knew something was wrong with me. My eyes started to water, my vision started to waver and the world was spinning before me. I collapsed to the ground on my knees and I held my stomach as it twisted in gut wrenching pain. _I've over worked my powers_, I thought using my other hand to hold my spinning head.

I breathed in deeply, and from my far left I heard Robin moan. _He's waking up!_ I grabbed the knife next to me and flipped it close. Then I put the thin knife under my shirt and in between my shoulder blades behind me; leaving my bra to hold it against me. "Sorry Boy Wonder, but it has my DNA on it," I whispered.

Then quickly, before Robin got up fully, I sprinted to the exit door and left the room without a second glance.

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><p>Superman glanced at Batman. "You were right."<p>

"I usually am," Batman nodded, watching his adoptive son on the ground shake his head clear.

"She's a meta-human, and she just saved our teams lives, and your property," Superman said breaking the vines off from around him. "She took Robin's knife though," he added. "Why did she do that?"

"Her DNA was on it from when she was climbing to save Artemis and Aqualad," Batman answered, already cutting off his bindings.

"But why would she take it with her?" Superman said now floating in the air.

"She doesn't want evidence that she was here is my guess," Batman answered.

"So she doesn't want anyone to know she was here today? why?" Superman asked holding his arm out for Batman so he could fly them both down from the ceiling.

Batman accepted Supermans arm and answered quietly, "I don't know, but I'm going to find out."

"How?" the kryptonian asked landing on the ground.

Batman gave Superman a solid stare from his whited out eyes. "I'm going to pay her a visit."

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><p><strong>DUM DUM DUMMMM!<strong>

**ohhhhh Daddy Bats is going to go poke at Jezebelle!**

**this should be interesting... Reviews? Nah? okay well still...**

***Batman glare* REVIEW PEOPLE OR I WILL SEND JEZEBELLE AFTER YOU!**

**kay well that sounded alot better in my head...**

**oh well :)**

**~missmusicluver**


	7. Chapter 7

**WARNING!: This might be a little sad. So if your looking for a happy, go lucky, touchy feely, story, this is NOT it. So, beware...**

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><p>The lobby of Wayne Enterprise was in total chaos.<p>

Women were screaming at other women to get out of the building and men where accidentally hitting other people with their briefcases trying to get out of the room. I stepped out of the hallway that held the stairs I had just been climbing down and ran into the jumble of people.

I was looking for one head in particular, and I wouldn't stop looking until I found her. "Jezebelle!" I heard a familiar voice yell at me from the left.

I stop dead and turn to the sound of Abby's voice. Abrianna ran towards me from a group of other kids I would guess be our class. She held Miranda in her arms like a kindergartener and made her way to me with fast steps. "Thank God you're okay!" she says stopping in front of me.

Abby sets Miranda on the ground and she immediately jumps into my arms like the worried child she was. I held her close as people ran around us half insane. "Did anyone see you?" I ask.

Abby shakes her head. "Everyone was too busy finding the nearest exit."

"And your shirt?" I ask.

"Someone accidentally started a fire in the cafeteria after hearing Poison Ivy was in the building. I took the opportunity to throw the shirt in the flames before in was put out."

I narrow my eyes at her, trying to figure out how much of the story was tweaked to make her seem like the innocent bystander. Fires didn't just happen.

I nod to my best friend, to overwhelmed to really care how she did it. The evidence was out of the question and that was all that really mattered. "Let's get out of here," I say nodding to our school bus.

Abby nods and I put Miranda on the ground. "You need to get back to your school sweetie."

Miranda looks up at me with nervous eyes from the commotion going on around her. "Can't I just stay with you?" she asks with those blue eyes of hers.

I glance at my class a couple feet away and then back at my little sister. Nodding, I hold out my hand to Miranda which she grabs immediately with a death grip. I walk her to my class group and I find my teacher. "Mrs. Drake, my sister lost her class. Is it okay if she stays with me?"

Mrs. Drake's eyes make her way down to my sister and Miranda uses the opportunity to use her baby dear eyes on my teacher. My teacher unconsciously juts out her lower lip in reaction to Miranda's overwhelming cuteness. Mrs. Drake nods and then looks me in the eye. "Don't lose her."

I nod to her and tighten my grip on Miranda's hand, taking her warning very literally. Mrs. Drake turns away from us and addresses the class over all the scared adults around us. "Alright everyone, make your way to the school buses! Single file line and make sure you all stay together!"

No one listened to the second part of her directions and booked it to the buses as fast as they could from the panicking building. I pulled Miranda close to me as people around me ran to the buses. We followed behind my class directly behind them, but only to get away from the cameras watching the crowds in the corners.

We got past the double doors without difficulty and ran towards the school buses at the front of the building as fast as Miranda's legs would carry her. We ran with my class to the door of the school bus and I pulled us threw the bus doors as soon as they opened. We sat near the back and I saved the seat behind me. People filled the bus and before long, everyone was sitting down, and talking loudly about what might have happened in the business.

I swallowed my on edge nerves behind a curious smile and my own wildly made up versions of what might have happened. "Connor Kent? Megan Moorse?" Mrs. Drake calls out from the front of the bus. "Has anyone seen Connor Kent and Megan Moorse?" she asks looking down at a clipboard in her hands.

I look around the bus for my cheer leaders red head and her boyfriend's dark hair. They were nowhere to be seen. I ask to seat in front of me, to Abby and Wendy Harris (another cheer leader on my team), "You guys seen them?"

Wendy Harris looks back at me with her short black hair and blue eyes. "No I haven't seen them since the tour through the computer labs on the thirty second floor."

"Me neither," says Karen Beecher, another cheer leader on my team who was sitting in the seat next to me with her big boyfriend Mal Duncan. She had curly brown hair that was always up in two round balls on top of her head and she had pretty brown eyes. "Last I saw them was in the computer labs too."

I frown to myself. "Where did they go?"

"Where do you think?" Mal smirked from besides Karen on the seat. "They probably went off somewhere for some alone time."

I purse my lips at him. "oh shut up Mal, we both know Megan's not like that."

Mal smirk got wider. "Yea but Connors a guy," was all he said.

Then from the front of the bus, a tall dark haired young man and a red head with a Happy Harbor cheer uniform step onto the bus, looking flustered and red faced from recently running. "OHHHH Connor what _you_ been doing recently?" someone yells from the bus audience.

Connor looks confused for a moment and then grins like a total boy. "OHHHHHH!" people yell from the bus.

"Megan, get Connor and his butt over here" I say yelling to the couple still standing in the front of the bus. I wave my hand over for them to find me and to the seat behind me I had saved for Megan. Megan sits down gratefully and Connor sits down next to her instinctively. I turn in my seat as the bus gets moving. "You wanna explain why you disappeared on us Megan?" I ask raising an eyebrow at Connor.

Connor raises his eyebrow at me as if mocking me. I threaten to hit him over the head and he laughs while ducking in false threat.

Megan looks at Miranda next to me and avoids the question with the question, "Actually, why is Miranda here?"

I glance at Miranda. "She got separated from her class. Now about _my_ question," I say not letting the issue drop.

"We got separated from the class," Connor says before Megan can talk.

I raise an eyebrow then roll my eyes. "Whatever, don't tell me." I smile letting them know I don't really care and I turn around in my seat.

The bus ride back to Happy Harbor was going to be a long ride, and everyone knew it, so the entire bus of people started to settle down from the days excitement and started to nod off to sleep. I couldn't agree more with the unsaid agreement and I leaned against the back of my seat and collapsed in total exhaustion from the amount of healing I had done not an hour ago.

The world passed in a blur and suddenly I was in a place I knew all too well; a place I had never wanted to revisit.

"_Mama!" I yelled throwing my arms around a pregnant blonde haired woman's neck. _

_The woman laughed and kissed my head with tender care before returning my hug with strong arms. "Hi sweetie-pie," she says into my hair against her lips. "What are you doing here birthday girl?"_

_I look into my mother's brilliantly blue eyes and smile with a curious stare. "I wanted to see how the baby was doing today," I answer looking down at the women's swollen stomach. "I wonder if it's going to like my birthday cake," I say putting my ear to my mother's stomach. _

_My mother laughs in a bell like voice. "I'm sure __**she**__ will like it very much," my mom reminds me of the future child's gender._

_I nod and lift my head from her stomach. "What are you going to call her mama?" I ask smiling wider. _

"_We're gonna call her after grandma Miranda sweetie, we already talked about this," Mamma smiles to me. _

_I nod again and put my hands together behind my back. "I know, but I wanted to hear you say it again," I say._

_Mama smiles at me and I feel my insides warm up at her smile. Suddenly from behind me, I feel strong arms lift me off the ground and spin me around in the air and I laugh excitedly. _

"_Hear your mama say what again?" a man's voice, my daddy, asks me; turning me towards him in midair. The man holding me was six foot six with dark brown hair, almost black and had shinning blue eyes like my mamma's. He smiled at me with white teeth and set me on the ground before putting his large hand on the top of my head like a hat. _

_He walked past me and kneeled in front of my mama and kissed her stomach. "How's my next baby girl doing?" he said looking up at mamma. _

_Mamma smiled. "She's doing good, but she's kicking a lot tonight."_

_Daddy raised his eyebrows on his forehead. "Is our girl ready to show her face to the world?"_

_Mamma looked down at her belly and smiled softly. "Not yet."_

_Daddy smiled and looked over at me, raising his arm for me to come over. I ran to him and he circled his arm around my entire body, holding me close to him. "You ready to be a big sister honey?" he asked me._

_I nod enthusiastically. "I'm gonna teach her the piano like mamma taught me," I say smiling wide already knowing what I was gonna do with my younger sister._

_Daddy smiles and mamma says quietly, "I'm sure you'll be the best older sister there has ever been."_

_I nod in authority. "I'll be the greatest there's ever been. I'll teach her music and feed her and change her and teach her karate like Mentor Shoi teaches me and I'll protect her from all the bad people in the world. I promise," I say raising my right hand in mock salute._

"_You promise?" mamma asks raising a perfect eyebrow at me. _

"_I promise."_

Images blurred before my eyes and another memory surfaced to my eyes. The happiest and worst day in my life.

_I waited in the hospital corridor, walking back and forth like I had seen daddy do a couple times before. 'Pacing' he called it whenever he was scared… And I was very scared. _

_I was just about to go to bed with my 'happy birthday' crown still on my head, when mamma had dropped to the floor and water leaked out from her. "She's coming!" she yelled to daddy who had immediately ran to her side._

_I watched as daddy lifted mommy in the air and ran to the front door. "Jezebelle grab the keys!" He yelled to me before closing the door behind him. I instantly ran to the coffee table and snatched the car keys off the table top and ran after daddy. _

_In the car, I hung on for dear life as daddy sped to the hospital. When we got there, daddy and mommy left to a different room with mommy screaming in pain. I winced every time she screamed, and it felt like my ears were bleeding when she was out of the same room I was in. A tall nurse walked after my parents and I walked after her, not sure where I was supposed to go._

_She stopped in front of a big white room and I stopped along with her. I saw my daddy go inside, but I stopped, knowing that a room of full adults wouldn't want someone as small as me going in there._

_So I paced._

_I looked at the big clock on the side of the hall move slowly to the number 10. Then I paced some more. I looked back at the clock again and the time went by slowly onward. ! … 12… 1….2…3…4… This was the latest I had ever stayed up! I paced some more and then suddenly I saw daddy walk out of the room. He had red eyes, like he had been crying. But daddy never cried. Never!_

_I stepped forward silently and asked quietly, "Daddy?"_

_Daddy looked up at me and I could see that daddy had defiantly been crying. Had the baby not come out? Was it hurt? _

"_Is the baby okay?" I asked walking forward._

_Daddy nodded but didn't smile. "Yea sweet heart, the baby's okay."_

_I looked at daddy closer. "Then why are you not happy? Is the baby ugly?" I ask thinking about an ugly baby. Mommy and daddy could love an ugly baby right?_

"_The baby's beautiful sugar, don't worry," he answered me, kneeling down at my level._

"_Then what's wrong daddy!" I exclaimed nearly starting to cry at daddy's red eyes._

"_I- It's your mommy baby. She's hurt really badly," daddy said to me wrapping his arms around me._

"_What?" I asked my blood running cold in my veins and my heart nearly stopping. Mommy? Mommy was hurt? What, why?_

"_When mommy had Miranda sweetie, mommy got really sick and-"he said before pulling away from me. "Well baby, she wants to talk to you." He stood up and walked away from me with his back towards me. I felt a chill travel up my spine. Daddy had never walked away from me before. _

"_What about the baby daddy? Is the baby gonna be-"I started to ask. _

_Daddy turned to me suddenly and said with anger in his eyes and venom in his voice, "Jezebelle go talk to your mother now!"_

_I stopped cold, and nodded to my daddy. "Okay." Then before he could say another word I ran for momma's hospital door as fast as I could. _

_I stepped in to the room and ran to the only bed between the white walls. "Mamma!" I said throwing myself at the bed. I got to the edge of her bed and looked up with tears in my eyes and … stopped breathing. Mamma was looking down at me with pain in her red trimmed eyes. … She had been crying too. _

"_Mamma?" I asked quietly, barely breathing again. _

_Mamma swallowed painfully and she motioned me to come closer to her. I climbed on to her bed as fast as I could and snuggled close to her head. "Hi my beautiful girl," she whispered in a coarse voice. _

_I nearly started to cry from the pain in her voice, but instead I smiled big for my mommy and said back, "Hi beautiful momma."_

_She smiled weakly at me and wrapped her once strong arms around my body. They felt weak and lifeless on my skin as she attempted to squeeze me in reassurance. "You have a baby sister Jezebelle. I want you to take good care of her for me," she said. _

_I only stared at my momma as she spoke to me through her mouth. Speaking to me threw her pair of dull pink lips that used to always be a healthy pink. "Mamma," I said._

"_Your daddy is going to be sick for a while dear. It might be a long time before he gets better so I need you to take care of our little Miranda okay?" she asks quietly. "Make sure she's okay baby girl; you're the only one who can."_

_I nod, but I can't feel my head, or any other part of my body. "And heal people sweetheart. Use your gift to help people to get better when their sick."_

"_Like Daddy?" I ask staring into her blue eyes. _

_Mommy blinks downwards and says softly, "Baby, I don't know if you can heal daddy. He needs to heal on his own pace and his own time."_

"_Why's he sick?" I ask not understanding._

"_He's not sick in body baby, he's sick in the heart," she answered looking back at me in the eyes. _

_I grab her hand tightly from around me. "Then I'll heal you mommy. Daddy says you're sick, so I'll heal you," I said already concentrating as hard as I could. _

_Mommy touches my eyelids softly, which makes me open my eyes confused. "You can't heal me either baby girl. I've already given myself away to another soul."_

_I crunch my eyebrows together, and I feel my 'happy birthday' tiara fall onto the top of my forehead. I push I back into my hair and look at mommy confused. "What?" I ask. Soul? Given away?_

_Momma pulled me closer to her and I found myself staring deeply into momma's eyes. "Jezebelle listen to me okay?" she holds me tight, but I nod anyways. "There will come a point in your life where you will be willing to give your entire self, your being, into another person. If you do this baby, you will not wake up the next day. Do you understand?"_

_Death? Was she talking about dyeing? I knew death, I had seen Grandma Miranda's body in the wooden box before they put her in the ground. _

_I nod, but don't understand what she means. "I have already given myself away Jezebelle. I gave myself way this very morning to one of the most important people in my life."_

"_Miranda?" I ask already knowing the answer._

_She nods and I feel tears in the back of eyes and my nose start to tingle. "Jezebelle, sweetie, Miranda was dead when she came out of me." I open my eyes wide and I feel the first tear fall down my face in the knowledge I knew I was about to hear. "She wasn't breathing, but I used the abilities I gave to you to heal her broken heart and lungs." _

_I started to cry harder and I felt my entire body shake on the white bed beneath me. Mommy holds me while I cry for a moment, then said in a stern voice, "Jezebelle stop crying sweetheart, you need to know this before something happens." I shook my head, not wanting to hear, and mommy said quietly, but in an order, "Jezebelle stop crying."_

_I swallow hard and force my tears to stop coming from my eyes so I can look at my mommy while she continues on. "Jezebelle, the children in our family gain powers from the female side of the tree. It is a blessing sweetheart, but it also means it is very difficult to heal another child with our blood and same abilities." _

_I feel tears falling from my eyes, but I am not shaking anymore. "Is that why I can't heal you mommy? Because it won't work?" _

_Mommy nods. "And because you are not powerful enough darling."_

_I begin to feel my chin quiver in the restraint of holding back sobs. "B- But you healed Miranda mommy m- maybe that means it works for b- both of you."_

_Mommy shakes her head. "No baby, I healed Miranda, but I gave my soul to save hers beautiful girl." She looked at me with sorrowful eyes. "The only reason I'm still here is because of you Jezebelle. My baby," her voice cracks at the last word and she starts to cry from her pained blue eyes. "I couldn't leave without telling you baby," she says staring at me like she was trying to memorize my face. "My beautiful beautiful baby," she coos to me. I let my shoulders shake as the sobs pull my stomach and heart to the bottom of the floor. No! Mamma don't go!_

_I hold momma's hand as she cry's with me, our whimpers and shaky breathing mixing together to make a symphony of our pain and loss. _

_Momma please don't, please don't go. _

"_I-" mamma says over her tears. Then suddenly her head drops and her firm grasp on my hand goes slack. _

"_MOMMA!" I scream to her. I grasp her hand tightly and concentrate on her fading heartbeat. I keep my eyes open and I rush energy straight from my heart into her's, causing her to open her eyes at me._

_The door slams open from the other side of the room. _

"_-love you," she whispers to me. _

_Then from out of nowhere, a hand grabs the back of my shirt and pulls me backwards with a thunderous force. I loose contact with momma and I see her eyes close, for the final time. _

_I scream in agony at my mother as I fly through the air. Then suddenly, I hit the wall of the hospital and my head slams against the wood with a loud, 'CRACK'. My scream is cut off short and I fall to the ground in a heap as I hear my father in the background yelling at me._

"_You bitch, you murdered her!" he screams at me. _

"_Mr. Keating! That is your daughter! Someone get him under, now! He's going in to shock!" a male voice said, the doctor. _

_I look up slightly and before my vision wavers, I see someone putting a long needle into my father's neck. Daddy looks at me and gone is all trace f the warm, loving, protective daddy that I had known all my life. All I saw in his eyes were pain, anger and pure hatred; all of which was directed at me. Was this the sickness mommy had talked about? My vision blurred and I saw the form of my father fall to ground with me. _

_Mommy….. Daddy…._

_My mommy was dead. My daddy was a mad man. _

_And I was supposed to protect the sister I had never seen before._

I jerk my eyes open at the touch of someone shaking my shoulder.

"Jez? You okay?" Abby's voice asks me.

I shake my head and open my eyes wider, only to find Abby staring down at me worriedly.

"yea," I say blinking a few times. I look around me and I notice we're back at Happy Harbor High School. I stand up at the now still bus and look over to my right. Miranda was leaning against the window completely zonked out.

I smile to myself and pick up my sleeping sister.

"You sure you're okay?" Karen asks from the other side of me.

I turn towards my friends who were all staring at me, even Mal and Connor, with worried expressions.

"Yea," I say pushing my sister farther up my waist so I could hold her better. "I just-," I rolled my eyes and took a sigh, "-had a nightmare."

Then I turned around and walked down the center isle of the bus with my sister in my arms and my friends behind me.

"So uh Abby, why don't you have your cheer shirt on again?" Karen asked from behind me.

"Oh, I found this really hot guy from Gothom High," she answered without a beat.

Mal and the others laughed behind me and I rolled my eyes as I stepped off the bus. Something's just never change…

* * *

><p><strong>A little sad I know, but you got background info now! Yay!<strong>

**Next up, more info on her life before this one AND you get to see her _sorta kinda_ meet Batman, Black Canary, and Green Arrow.**

**~missmusicluver**


	8. Chapter 8

Robin tossed his head, shaking the after effects of Poison Ivy's influence from himself. He groaned again and pulled himself to his knees.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw someone running. He glanced quickly at the figure and a hazy figure met his eyes. A girl? Maybe? He caught sight of long brown hair and a flash of black and yellow. Another enemy who was working with Poison Ivy and was now ducking out seeing that she couldn't win? Innocent bystander running for help? He hoped for the last one.

He shook his head again and blinked his head again. He could have almost sworn that the person was wearing a – nah, ridiculous.

He looked up again and was met with an empty room. Poison Ivy was tied up in a corner of the room unconscious, Aqualad was unconscious in a puddle of water near the door, and Artemis was unconscious near Poison Ivy. The rest of the team was still up on the ceiling he guessed not looking upwards. He shook himself and stood up. He took a few steps forward and found that Superman and Batman were descending from the ceiling.

Ah crap, now he was gonna get it.

"I'm going to pay her a visit," he heard Batman say.

Her? The figure he had seen? So it was a woman… and apparently not an enemy …. But who?

* * *

><p>Mason stopped the car before the door of my apartment complex. The tall three story building loomed over the small compact car with its dingy walls and gray paint. I looked over at Mason on the driver's side of the car and I smiled sheepishly. "Thanks for the lift Mason," I say.<p>

He grins his answer and looks at the backseat. I follow his eyes and smile when my eyes find my little sister totally knocked out on the back seat. A small laugh bursts out my lips and I get out of the car with Mason doing the same thing. He stays on the other side of the car as I open the car door on my sister's side behind mine. I snap her seatbelt off of her and pull her into my arms while closing the door behind her.

"You wanna come up?" I ask Mason who was watching me place Miranda's head on my shoulder.

He shakes his and looks away from me. "Nah, I gotta go before I give my old man a heart attack."

"It's only eight," I say trying to halfheartedly convince him to stay.

"Yea, and I have an algebra 2 test tomorrow," he says smiling at me. "So I'll be here tomorrow like always for school pick up."

"Actually Mason," I say stopping him from opening his car door. "Miranda's feeling a bit hot to me, so I think I'm going to keep her home tomorrow just in case she has a fever," I say lying threw my teeth. I just didn't want her to go to school tomorrow because of the trauma she went through today. Of course, I couldn't tell Mason that, no matter how much I trusted him.

"She's sick?' Mason asked.

"Yea, I think she might have caught something from one of her friends at school," I say lying again.

"So no pick up tomorrow?" he confirms with me.

"No pickup," I say confirming our agreement.

Mason nods. "Okay, but make sure she's better by tomorrow, or else I'm bringin over Ben 'n Jerry's," he threatens.

"Oh Superman help me," I say sarcastically and roll my eyes.

"Don't think I won't Jez, cause I'll bring over a whole gallon of it over for her and make her love me more," he smiles to me.

I laugh a little and flick my hand at him. "Get lost little boy, I'll see you later kay?" I say.

"Bank on it Jez. But seriously, I will bring over the ice cream if you don't call me tomorrow and tell me she's okay." He says playfully threatening me again.

"Bye!" I say turning away from Mason and start walking back to my apartment complex.

Mason doesn't say anything back to me but I know he's grinning like a fool as I hear him open and close his car door. Right afterwards, I hear his engine start and drive away down the empty road.

I walk to the side of the tall building and start climbing cement steps up to the second floor. I stop in front of my brown wooden door to my apartment and open the locked door with a silver key. I flip the lights on immediately and lock the door behind me. "Miranda? Miranda wake up sweety," I say shaking my sister lightly.

Miranda groggily opens her eyes and I silently set her down on the kitchen counter as she rubs her eyes to wipe away the sleep from them. "Hmm?" she asks blinking her blue eyes at me.

"Medicine time," I say smoothly and reach down to the drawer beneath her sitting place. I pull open the drawer and pull out an unmarked black bottle and long silver needle.

Miranda stares at the needle without fear and pulls her mouth to a small frown. She does this every day, but it's never easy for her and I grudgingly know it. I put the needle into the black bottles top and watch as the needle sucks a clear liquid into its container. I tap the needle for air bubbles and set down the now empty black bottle onto the counter.

Miranda lifts her arm obediently and I plunge the needle into her arm as fast as I can and release the medicine into her arm with fast efficiency. Miranda flinches slightly but when I pull the needle out of her arm she smiles and yawns.

"Jez?" she says in the middle of her yawn.

"Hmm?" I ask putting the needle away and throwing out the black bottle.

"I used my powers today," she admits to me.

"I know," I say placing both my hands on the counter and leaning over so I was eye to eye with her. "I saw the charred plant tips inside the flower. You used your powers against the plant."

"Am …. Am I in trouble?" she asks looking at me with worried eyes.

I stare at her silently for a moment and break the tension with a smile. "Course not Miranda. You used your powers to protect yourself just like I told you to do. You did everything exactly right and I'm proud that you did."

Miranda's face breaks into a large smile and she breaths out clearly relieved. "I thought I was gonna be in trouble because I used my powers in front of other people," she says in confession.

"Other people?" I ask.

"The other heroes there like Kid Flash and Robin," she says.

"They saw you use your powers?" I ask my voice tightening.

Miranda swallows like she was afraid I would get mad and explode at her. "Yea," she says quietly.

I sigh deeply but shrug my shoulder. I would deal with it if something came up about it later on. She always did. "It's okay sweety. I still think you did a great job."

Miranda smiles again and I put her on the ground. I smack her butt lightly and say dramatically, "Now off to bed with you young hero!"

Miranda smiles and hurriedly runs to her bedroom. I follow after my sister's figure while scooping up my cheap cell phone from the coffee table. I would need to call Abby after tucking Miranda into bed to make sure she was okay.

I walk into Miranda's poster and stuffed animal filled room and sit on her tiny twin bed. Miranda was already under her covers and she taps the small space next to me. I grin and lay down on my side next to her and wrap my arms around her. "Sing to me," she says. "Sing to me." She yawns loudly and settles her head in the crook of my neck. I pull up the blanket to her chin and rest my head on the top of hers. Then quietly I sing:

"Slow down you crazy child, you're so ambitious for a juvenile,

But then if you're so smart then tell me why are you still so afraid?

Where's the fire, what's the hurry about?

You better cool it off before you burn it out,

You've got so much to do and only so many hours in a day,

But you know that when the truth is told you can get what you want or you can just get old,

You're gonna kick off before you even get halfway through,

When will you realize, Vienna waits for you."

I watched my sisters shoulders rise up and down in a constant rhythm and I knew she was out cold. The poor girl, after using her power and then combine the fear she must have been feeling was probably a hell of an adrenaline rush. And after the rush came the crash. She would probably sleep through nine in the morning.

I slowly got up from her bed and stood up, looking over her. Her blonde hair was spread over her pillow, making me thing for a moment of mamma. She was facing towards the open window behind me and the full moon was lighting up the inside of the room, illuminating her hair and sleeping face. _Looks like an angel…_

From the inside of my pocket came a small beeping and I quickly dug out my cell phone. I check the caller ID and I grimace in knowing who the speaker was going to be.

"Speak," I say opening the phone.

"You have work tonight," a slimy and breathy male voice says from the other side of the line says.

"I worked last night," I say, my voice cutting like razors through the phone.

"You're needed again tonight. Three fights, like always," the mouth breather says.

"How much?" I ask.

"400 dollars a win," he answers getting to the point.

I think back to the empty medicine bottle in the trash in my kitchen. "When?"

"Eleven tonight."

"I'll be there."

"Bring in your 'GRR' face Butterfly. You're gonna need it," he warns with a smirk hidden in his voice.

"Who are they?" I ask clenching my jaw.

"They're big. Bigger than the guy you took on last night."

"What do they-"

"Be here at eleven," he interrupts me and immediately afterwards I hear a click and I know he hung up on me.

I close my phone and I stare down at my still sleeping sister. _This is the last time sweety. The last time._

I walk out of my sister's room and walk into mine down the hall. I walk to my closet and open the door. I drop to the bottom of my closet and pull out a dull black box. I open the lid and find thick but stretchy black capris'. I pull off my yellow and black cheer uniform and put on the back capris'. I look into the box gain and pull out a long sleeved black shirt. On the back of the shirt was one large red outline of a butterfly. I pull on the shirt and walk over to my vanity mirror.

The long sleeved shirt hugged my figure and showed a good three inches of my stomach from my black bottoms. The shirt was made of the thick fabric like my capris' and like my shirt, my capris' hugged my hips and the curve of my legs. The capris' stopped at the bottom of my kneecaps and sitting down in front of my mirror, I pulled out black steel toed shoes that exposed my ankles. I pulled the shoes on and stood up, next walking to my bathroom down the hall. I opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out a compact mirror. I opened it up and found an eye contact holder in the hollowed out mirror. I pulled out the contacts and placed them in my eyes. I blinked a couple times, to get my eyes adjusted and stared into the mirror. Instead of green eyes, I stared unblinking at bright red eyes in my reflection. I was ready.

Now all I had to do was wait.

* * *

><p>Batman sat in the Watchtower's Monitor room at around 10:45 and he watched a security tape of the break in at Wayne Enterprise. The video showed a teen age girl with dark brown hair and flashing green eyes wearing a black and yellow cheerleading uniform. The young teen had her hair up in a high ponytail and she was looking left and right at the room around her. She jumped to the side of the screen as a huge green vine smashed into the place where she just stood.<p>

The girl runs away from the villainess, Poison Ivy, and face plants the ground as she trips over something. Batman narrows his eyes and widens the view on the camera. His eyes release his narrowed vision as he sees the young teen pick up his unconscious protégé by the arm and pull Robin to the side of the nearest wall.

Batman unconsciously folds his hands on the counter of the huge screen as the footage continues onwards. Jezebelle, Batman now knew her name very well, ran to another bleeding teen on the other side of the room. Abby Hale, another cheerleader on Jezebelle Keating's squad. She talks to her, almost in warning then places her hands on her bleeding shoulder. An almost invisible white light escapes the brown haired teen's hands and enters her friends shoulder. Within seconds, Batman sees the shoulder stop bleeding and simultaneously start to produce skin around the open wound like it was on steroids.

Batman nods to himself as if he was answering his own question.

He fast-forwarded over the next few minutes of the fight between her and Poison Ivy that he had already watched dozens of times. He stopped the tape at the young woman climbing the wall and pulling an unconscious Artemis off the wall and climbing down the wall with her on her back. She laid the bleeding and burned Artemis on the floor and ripped her shirt in half, until all except the bottom of her chest and upwards showed all the burned flesh underneath it. She then put her hands on the charred flesh and closed her eyes like she had with Abby Hale.

Moments later, Artemis's skin folded together and smoothed back into whole and pale white skin beneath her hands. Jezebelle got up and again and looked upwards at the ceiling, then like she had made a snap decision, she climbed the wall again and pulled down Aqualad from the ceiling like she had with Artemis.

He watched as she placed her hands on his chest and her releasing her hands almost immediately afterwards she touched him as if she had been electrocuted. She looked confused for a moment, then placed her hands on his chest again. This time as her hands touched him, he saw electricity form around Aqualad's tattoo's and release into the woman trying to help him like white lightning. She flew back wards like a car had hit her and he winced slightly as he watched her get up in pain.

He paused the video, already knowing what happens next, the consequence of watching the same video over and over for nearly two hours. Of course he had seen this all with his own two eyes, but it was easier to decipher what had happened when he had a play by play at his disposal.

He leaned back in the tall dark seat and placed his folded hands against his lips and stared at the frozen screen image of the young woman. She was interesting, very interesting. After he had seen what she could do, he immediately did a _very _thorough background check and was surprised to find that not only was she an emancipated child of only sixteen, she was the legal guardian of her younger sister Miranda Keating. It was illegal to be a legal guardian of someone if you were under the age of 18. He would do more digging on how exactly she pulled that off. He found that the other details were also very interesting, especially her history…

Suddenly from a screen beside him, he found that the alarm he had sent to Jezebelle's house had been tripped. It was only an alarm that showed if someone was leaving or entering her home, but he opened the screen wider anyways to see what was going on. From today onwards, Jezebelle Keating was going to be under his close watch.

* * *

><p>I walked out of the house, shivering slightly from the cold September breeze that swept across my skin. I clenched my teeth together and locked the door behind me. Now was not the time to be thing about the weather, I had to center my mind and control my movements before I started fighting, just like Mentor Shoi had taught me.<p>

I felt my muscles tense for the oncoming fights ahead of me and I sighed deeply. After today's adventures and healings I had performed, I really doubted I would get through these next three fights with just a few bruises like I did last night. At the very least, I would break something and even that would take a good day to heal. I pulled up a tight black mask that covered the bottom part of my mouth that hung at the base of my neck pulled it over my nose and mouth.

I turned down a new street and jogged to a waiting car down at the end of the street, waiting for me. I looked left and right at the deserted street and climbed into the backseat of the car, regretting every movement I made that pushed me towards the fight cages.

* * *

><p>Batman watched as Jezebelle walked out of her house and into the street dressed from head to toe in black. She stared at the sides of the street and walked like a predator until she made it to the end of the street. From there, she pulled a black mask that covered her nose downwards and jogged to a black car. She opened the door as if she expected it to be there and jumped inside as the car screeched forwards. Batman quickly memorized the car plate numbers and set a GPS tracker from the car onto a newly opened screen.<p>

From behind Batman, he heard the door open and two set of footsteps walk into the room.

"She wouldn't go for you Ollie, she needs a female figure in her life to show her the ropes," Black Canary said to Green Arrow, walking into the room unknowing that Batman was there.

"No Dinah, she needs someone who can teach her how to really fight," Green Arrow said, being the first to notice Batman staring at a screen of a blinking light of a moving vehicle.

"What? Are you saying you can fight better than me!" Black Canary asked like she had just been smacked in the face.

"Hey Batman, who are you tracking down?" Green Arrow asked, trying to avoid the oncoming fight he knew he had just started.

Black Canary looked at the masked man, then at the large screen with the moving car. "Wha'd they do to make you stare so intently at the screen?" she asked.

Batman turned from the screen and avoided the question. "Who were you two talking about? Thinking about adopting between the two of you? I would highly disagree if you are."

"Actually," Green Arrow said almost cautious, "We were talking about her." Batman turned towards Green Arrow, only to find he had pulled up the frozen video of the masked Jezebelle with all of her black clothes on.

"You know her?" Batman asked leaning forward, suddenly very interested at the two hero's previous conversation.

Black Canary glanced at Green Arrow and then back to Batman. "Yea. Her names Red Butterfly," she said crossing her arms over her chest. "Why are you bat-ground checking her Batman?" she said nodding up to the frozen video.

"Tell me what you know about this girl," Batman said blatantly ignoring her question.

Black Canary tightened her hold across her chest and Batman let a tense silence fall before he said turning back to the screen and typing quickly. "You heard about the break in at Wayne Enterprise?" he asked pulling up the security video he had been watching for the past two hours.

"Yea, I heard someone had to help you, Superman, _and_ the team out," Canary answered.

"Someone on the League?" Green Arrow asked leaning towards the monitor. "Or someone outside?"

Batman nodded to Green Arrows suspicions. "Your Red Butterfly's real name is Jezebelle Keating. She's sixteen years old and attends Happy Harbor High School along with Superboy and Meg'ann. She co-leads the varsity cheer team, she has nearly 100 hours logged in for community service this year alone, she works part time at a café on weekends, and she has a GPA of 4.6," Batman listed, getting the information out there.

"Along with those activities, she somehow manages to have time to do this," Batman said emotionlessly, playing the video.

Black Canary and Green Arrow watch the security feed before them and Black Canary raised a blonde eyebrow. "She's a cheerleader?"

"So her power is healing?" Green Arrow said almost at the same time.

"Yes and yes," Batman answered looking back at the video feed.

He glanced back at Black Canary. "Now talk," he said.

Black Canary stepped forwards to the now frozen screen and started a little annoyed, "Ollie and I first saw her about four weeks ago at a fight club down in southern Gotham."

"Gotham?" Batman asks looking peeved off. "What were you doing in Gotham?" he asked.

Canary smiled thinly. "I was in the impression I was supposed to be talking about Red Butterfly."

Batman glared at her thoroughly before nodding slightly. "We were investigating someone who was stealing money from various trusts funds all over the world. He went to the fight clubs to spend some of his stolen money and we followed him in," Black Canary started again. "We were only there for him, but then we saw her," she said pointing to the frozen face on the screen. "She was setting a rep for herself, that much was obvious." She continued onwards, "I thought she was like the rest, only there to set a name for themselves to be hired by the biggest villain's that come through for new recruits. But after her fights, she just collected her money and left. She didn't talk to anyone when she left and she didn't wait for an opportunity for someone to talk to her. She just left and didn't look back."

"Which then led us to think that she was being forced to fight for the clubs across the state area," Green Arrow said interrupting Black Canary and finishing her unsaid sentence. Black Canary gave him the stink eye and Green Arrow continued on, "We followed her for a few nights and realized she was just there and gone the next minuet afterwards. We never got close enough to talk to her, until last night."

"You talked to her?" Batman asked.

Green Arrow nodded. "The clubs move around every couple days to always be on the move and Canary and I had just found the latest one in Rhode Island. We found Butterfly walking out of the club and we approached her about her situation."

"I take it she didn't want to talk?" Batman asked more like a statement.

Green Arrow nodded. "She pretty much told us to get lost and that she didn't need help. She was doing this on her own, and no one was forcing her to do anything," he said shaking his head as if still bemused at the teenager.

"Then?" Batman asked wanting the rest of the story.

"Then nothing. She left and didn't look back like she was talking to a drive through speaker for McDonalds," G Arrow said.

Batman said nothing, but nodded to himself like he had foreseen the answer ahead of time.

"We were thinking of taking her in," Black Canary said. "Well, actually, I was thinking of taking care of her. She's got great moves, but they don't flow together like she needs them to if she wants to survive long in the cages."

"Were you planning on talking to the league before you took on a potential apprentice?" Batman asked her straightly.

"No, why would I? It's not like we had a choice when you decided to take in Robin Batman," Black Canary said blankly in defense.

"Actually, _I _was planning to take her in. She needs more than just fighting techniques and that's really just the end of it. She's smart and she needs to be tested thoroughly for every resource we have. Batman I'm telling you, this girl is good. Really good. She might one day out smart even you," Green Arrow said aloud making Black Canary take a quick glance at Batman.

Black Canary then full on glared at Green Arrow. "'Needs more than just fighting techniques'?" she said raising her voice with every word. "What exactly are you implying Oliver!" she nearly yelled with a deathly stare.

Green Arrow raised his hands in submission. "Nothing Dinah! I just think that she would be better off-"

"I was under the impression Jezebelle doesn't want anything to do with you two," Batman interrupted.

Green Arrow and Black Canary turned to Batman with a turn of their heads. "Well, she'll come around eventually Batman. I mean, she can't just keep fighting in the cages for the rest of her life without someone noticing her and trying to either recruit her or kill her out of fear," Green Arrow pointed out.

Batman remained silent for a moment then turned back to the large screen. "You said you were going to see her again?" he asked.

"Well, that was the plan," Green Arrow answered slightly confused at Batman's question.

Batman nodded and got up from the large seat in front of the computer screen. "Alright, we should get going if we want to catch up to her."

Green Arrow raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth a little. "Wait 'we'?" he asked. Black Canary raised her eyebrows in surprise as well.

"You need to talk to her. I need to see her. I think we can make this work better if we all go," he said already walking to the door. Black Canary and Green Arrow exchanged glances before running after Batman like forgotten school children.

* * *

><p>The locker room I was sitting in was dark. Only small points of light from widely spaced dull light bulbs gave the room enough light to walk through. I stayed in the long shadows of the lockers as I waited on a gray bench behind double set doors to the far left of me. I hear the screaming crowds outside and the grunts and yells of pain from the latest fight in the arena. Their yells reach my ears and I feel a shiver reach my arms. That was going to be me in less than ten minutes.<p>

"Butterfly?" a women's voice asks from the shadows in front of me, maybe five yards ahead. I snap my head upwards and stare at the spot I think the voice came from. I recognized that voice, but who…

I stand up and narrow my eyes at the shadows. You can't trust anyone here, even people who pay me the check. Especially people who pay me the check. "You don't have to get up," she said again from the shadows. "I'm just here to talk to you."

Talk to me? I stay standing and a thought reaches me from my suspicions. Dropping my voice an octave like I always did when I spoke here, I order thinly, "Come into the light."

There was a moments silence from the shadows, and then a black boot steps into the light in front of me. Attached to the boot was a fish netted leg, and a black clad body of leather followed shortly later. I follow the appearance of each body part, and I grimace knowing who she was before I saw her blonde hair.

"Black Canary," I state.

"Red Butterfly," she says nodding in greeting.

I cross my arms over my chest and I clench my fists together. I was _so_ no in the mood to deal with this. "Last time I checked, you and your friends only came running when someone's trying to rule the world," I state in annoyance. "So what's a hotshot like you doing in a little run down gym in the middle of Rhode Island?"

Black Canary leans against the wall nearest to her and crosses her arms over her chest like me. "We both know what's behind those doors Butterfly. And it's not a lot of old weights."

As if to prove her point, the cheering of the crowd outside erupted and filled the room with echoed screams.

I grimace and pull myself up in all my height. "You didn't asker my question lady," I said with my most bitchy voice. All time cheerleader smack down prep voice that make my own ears flinch. "What. Are. You. Doing. Here?" I say slowly for her like she was hard of hearing.

"I'm trying to talk to you," she says stepping forward towards me.

I narrow my eyes at her and my whole body tenses, waiting for a fight. "I don't want to talk. I thought I had made that pretty clear last time you and Green Leather came and ambushed me," I say spitting my words with venom.

Black Canary raised her hands as if she was giving up. Yea, right. "I'm sorry you thought we were trying to ambush you. That wasn't out intention. I just wanna help you Jezebelle."

The blood in my veins froze as my name rolled off her tongue. How did she know?... How did she know? I calmed my nerves and spoke evenly, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Cut the crap Jezebelle. Don't deny it. I know who you are. What I don't know is how such a nice girl like you got yourself into a place like this," she says.

"I do what I have to," I say not denying anything. If she knew who I was then so be it. I doubted she would out me in the arena for fearing of getting me killed, but I also doubted this was the last time I was going to be speaking with this particular bird. "Now take your fish nets and your green leathered boyfriend out of the arena. I have fights to win."

As if on que, I hear Leo the body guard say thickly from the door, "Butterfly you're turn." I turn to the man and nod once. He nods back and leaves without another word.

"You wanna help me?" I ask glancing at the super hero. She nods carefully like she didn't know what to expect. "Then stay away from me." Without a second glance at her like the last time I had done this, I turn on my heel and walk away silently. I push past the double doors and walk down a long gray hallway. I didn't hear anything behind me and I knew Black Canary wasn't going to follow me.

Black Canary. How had she found out about my name? I was _always_ careful about talking in a lower voice than my own, I always wore my red contacts, and I _never_ showed my face in the arena. So how did she know? My thoughts went to Miranda and I grimaced. If a Justice League knew my name, good things would never come afterwards. I would have to be more than careful from now on.

I stop in front of another set of double set doors and breath in deep. No emotion, no words, no fear, just end it. I nod to myself and I clench my teeth as I push through the door.

"Now ladies and gentlemen, up next is one of our biggest brutes in the program. He's six foot nine, and at three hundred pounds, he's got the strength of several men and the brutality to go along with it," a female announcer says dramatically.

I step into a tan colored circle in the dark room I had walked into and wait for my turn. I hear the cheering as my opponent was introduced to the crowd. "On the other side of our lovely little competition is none other than our own Red Butterfly!" the announcer yells with cheerful optimism. The floor beneath me rises and the ceiling above me disappears as I rise onto the waiting arena mat. Cheers and the occasional boos rang out from the audience that surrounded me.

The arena was a tan mat that was spread out about fifteen yards wide and tall. Then connecting from the ground to about thirty yards above me was an enclosing metal cage that covered every inch of the mat. The audience stands sat around the cage from all sides, completely encircling the mat and rising from every seating row until the stands were over my head. I had guessed once that the arena could hold around two thousand people. And every person was watching the watching the fights with enthusiasm. Hearing them scream my name like some kind of martyr made my stomach twist, sickened.

As my ascendance to the arena stopped, the announcer seemed to have gotten quite excited about her new matchup. "This powerful women stands at five foot ten inches and weighs at about a hundred and thirty pounds. She may look small compared to her partner, but watch out for her butterfly kicks or she'll make you fly away!" she yells to the audience. The audience responded by laughing at her poorly made joke and clapped. The noise assaulted my ears and I grimace while clenching my teeth together.

"Who do you think will come out top dog? The giant brute of a man? Or the smaller butterfly? Bid now!" she orders the onlookers. The audience excitedly types numbers and clicks on a picture on their chair handles, betting for the winner they thought would win.

I didn't know if anyone voted for me, and frankly I didn't care. I was here for one reason and one reason only. I wait in my little tan circle like a good little fighter and size up my opponent while the audience bet on us.

My opponent was defiantly a brute, just like the annoying announcer woman had said. He was tall, seriously tall, with thick biceps and neck muscles. He was wearing a white t-shirt that stretched thinly over his abdomen, which was completely ripped. From head to toe he was covered in layer after layer of muscle. I knew I would be avoiding his punches, unless I wished to hit the surface of the sun.

I stared at the man and a memory assaulted my vision. I had been given training on this situation before hadn't I?

_"Faster!" mentor Shoi yells snapping out of his meditation. _

_I glance at the small man and nod with sweat dripping down my face. I was twelve, how was I supposed to do this? I turn back to Master Jack, who was at least a foot and a half taller than me. With blonde hair and thick muscles wrapping around every frame of his body, he was intimidating to the normal person. To me, he was the punching bag of the day. _

_"No emotion, no words, no fear Jezebelle, just end it!" Mentor Shoi said for the seventh time today. I clench my teeth together and nod. I jump upwards and kick at Mentor Jack with a high flying kick. He caught my foot and threw me to the ground like a rag doll._

_"Again!" Mentor Shoi said again from the fence he was balancing on in criss cross apple sauce style. "Watch his movements, his posture, his attitude!" he yells. I swallow and breath deeply. _

"Fight!" The announcer yells at me, having all the bids in, and interrupting my memory.

My partner took a step forward and I stayed completely still, watching the man move and how he carried himself. Lucky for me, he didn't look too bright, but i still watched him cautious of his movements. No emotion. No words. No fear.

He lumbers towards me and throws a heavy punch at my head. I duck easily and move to his backside. I throw a half energized punch just to see what I was up against. My hand made contact with his back and I feel my hand go numb as my hand nearly crumpled against his back. It felt like I was hitting an electric metal wall. Obviously, there was more to him than strength. The bulk of the man turns around and runs at me with annoyance on his face. He punches at me twice and his fists whistle past my face as I zigged and zagged to the left and right from him. "Butterfly!" he roars turning around as I got behind him again. His hand brushes my arm and I feel my muscles bunch and cry out in pain. I jerk myself away from him. Sloppy mistake.

_"Again!"_ I hear Mentor Shoi yell at me threw my memories.

I back up against the metal cage and wait for him. First thing I had to do was to get a weapon stronger than my hands to use against him. Bulky took my bait and yells in anger as he runs at me, fists raised. He pulls back his right arm and I jump onto the cage behind me as his fist gets to close for comfort. I climb about three bars when I felt his fist impact with the metal below me. The whole metal cage shakes as his hand and body blows threw the cage bars below me.

_"Attack, Jezebelle! No fear when you have the advantage. Use what you have and use it well."_

I push myself off the metal and flip backwards to the ground again. I land and hear the crows cheer. I can guess who they bet on.

From the other side of the broken cage, Bulky turned around and made his way back to the inside of the cage. "Bad birdy," he tells me.

I look behind him and smile in satisfaction. I saw broken pieces of metal on the ground from the broken cage. Bulky took the smile personally and roared in hate as he charged me, forgetting what happened last time he did that. I jump sideways and duck as his fist passes me. I immediately run to his exposed back and aim for the other side of the cage where the metal was. Suddenly, I feel a large hand smack my back and I go flying on the other side of the cage. My face and stomach impacts on the metal bars, making me see stars and taking all my breath away. I slide to the ground and force my lungs to open again. I feel my ribs are bruised, and the left side of my face is bleeding.

_"Again!" _my memory shouts at me.

I swallow as my lungs open in a burst of oxygen. Pissed off. I was officially pissed off.

I was on the other side, where I had originally wanted to be and I pick up two twisted and broken pieces of black metal. Now I was gonna finish this. I got to my feet and stood shoulder width apart. I ignore the pounding in my head and the screams of the crowd around me. I ignore the red liquid I could see in the corner of my eye falling from my forehead to my cheek. I breath slowly and set my focus on the man in front of me.

He had turned around and watched me pick up the metal pieces. Why he waited? That was beyond me. Instead, of pondering, I raise the metal bars and challenge the brute with my eyes. I had to be quick if I wanted to leave with my skull intact.

_"Now think little butterfly. Think about what you need to do. Your mind is always faster than your body, remember that."_ I hear the words from the back of my mind, reminding me of my lack of plan. Think.

Bulk narrows his eyes and grimaces at me. He runs to me with wide steps and I run forward as well. We meet halfway and instantly, I slid through the opening in between his legs and hit the backs of his knees. He falls to the ground. I hit the metal poles over both of his ears, making him clutch his bruised earlobes and shattered ear drums. Then without a moment's pause, but with practiced strength, I bring together both metal bars and hit him across the forehead. The brute looked at me for a moment like he couldn't believe I would do such a thing, and collapsed to the ground unconscious. I bent down and checked his pulse and to my immense relief, he was still alive.

Backing away from the unconscious man, I hear the crowd roar in approval. "I give you our winner, Red Butterfly!" the announcer yells threw the cheering. I clench my teeth and drop my metal bars on the ground.

_"Good Jezebelle. Now go check if Master Jack is okay. Killing is never an option for the strong."_

People ran from the sidelines and pulled the unconscious man out of the cage. It was over. Now, I got a fifteen minuet brake, just enough time to heal myself and –

"Now the real challenge begins." The announcer's female voice sent chills up my back and I knew something was off in today's games. "Yes our Butterfly beat the beast, but what will she do when she goes against the second of her opponents now instead of in fifteen minutes?" she asked the confused crowd. "Will she beat the odds, or will she succumb to the exhaustion and the _burn_?" she asks to the crowd.

From the other side of the cage, a hole appeared in the arena mat and a medium built woman rose from her own tan circle. She had red skin with long black hair and flashed dark brown eyes at me. She wore a small miniskirt, no shoes and a tube top that reached to the top of her belly button. I raised my eyebrows at her choice in clothing. So either this girl was very confident in what she was doing, or she liked dressing like a complete slut. In my situation, I would guess it was my first thought. Well crap.

I leveled my eyes with hers and she stared back unblinking. Very confident about herself. "You all know her, but may I introduce you to Black Blaze!" she stopped a moment for a dramatic effect and continues, "She stands at five six with a temper bigger that the fire that runs through her veins. Who do you think will win now?" she asks tempting the crowd with a mischievous voice.

"Fight!" she yells a second later.

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><p><strong>Yea, i mixed it up. So there's more of her weird history for ya. <strong>

**Up next? You'll see.**

**REVIEW people. I know you read it. so talk to me about it. SHEESH. jkjk**

**btw sorry for the delay. Had writers block, but no worries! my BFF helped me work my way threw it :)**

**~missmusicluver**


	9. Chapter 9

"Fight!" the announcer says loudly.

I immediately run forwards and kick her legs out from under her while simultaneously ducking her fast punch to my head. She falls to her knees and I throw a punch at her exposed back. She rolls to the floor, and my fist hits empty air. She's back on her feet in an instant and I lash out, connecting my foot with her chest. I knock her off her feet and send her falling backwards. She uses her falling momentum to roll herself backwards and flips herself to her feet.

Damn. Girl got skills.

I set my feet shoulder width apart and wait. Her turn. She responds by pulling back her arm and punching the air. I admit for a second I thought she was a little insane. But then from her fist came a burst of solid red fire. My mouth drops into a small 'o' shaped oval and I fling myself to the left just in time to not be burnt like toast. I land in a crouch and spring forwards, running around the perimeter of the arena with her fire punches and, yes, her fire kicks chasing after me half a second behind my heel. No wonder she didn't wear shoes. That'd cost a fortune.

I continue running, but slowly start to get myself closer to her as I finish lap after lap around the arena. Then I jump onto the cage bars and use my running momentum to push myself off the sides of the cage like some kind of monkey. I fly through the air and her fire is a second behind me. I land nearly a foot from her and kick her hands aside when she tries to defend herself. Her hands that currently had fire in them hit her thigh, and she yelled out in agony. She had burned herself.

So, … only her hands were fire retardant. Interesting.

Instantly afterwards, I kick her in the chest and send her flying backwards. The breath 'whooshed' out of her as my foot made contact with her and she landed on her back, with sweat running down her red skin. I stand back, sweat running down my own forehead and back. The steaming metal bars around us were red hot and was letting off an immense amount of heat, drenching the both of us in sweat. Sweat that was right now, dripping into my eyes.

Black Blaze stands up and shot me a death glare. Above us, I hear the metal creak, and snap as part of the hot metal broke into fractions. Hot metal rains down, and I jump backwards from the falling debris. Across the arena, I see Black Blaze do the same and raise her hands over her head. The debris stops and I jump to my feet. I look across the arena to find Black Blaze, but she was gone.

Oh shiz she's probably behind-

From behind me, I feel someone's hard kick, and I was sent tumbling forwards to the hot metal bars. I put my hands in front of me out of reflex, and nearly scream when my hands touch the bars. My flesh sizzled and burned before I snatch my hands way from the bar and back up. I feel the hard muscle of Black Fear's leg coming up behind me. Narrowing my eyes, I reach backwards with my burned hands and grab onto her small mini skirt. I pull with all my strength and flip her over my back and towards the hot metal. She lands on her butt and rolls away from me, an inch from the metal. I step forwards and mentally sent energy threw my hands.

Though it wouldn't heal as fast as it would if I were working on someone else, my skin was already starting to regrow over my burned hands. I would have to work on the muscle and tendons later. I clench my jaw together and I step forwards to the woman still on the floor. She picks herself up off the floor and punches the air, releasing a torrent of fire blows at me. I duck, swerve and roll out of the way, barely getting away from being barbequed.

The metal around us moves again. The left side of the cage fell through and I jump out of the way. I smack into a muscled body, and realize that Black Blaze was running from the same collapsion as I was. She glares and kicks me in the stomach sending me backwards. I catch myself before I fall onto the molten metal behind me and I pull myself forwards.

I set my feet beneath me and I focus on the falling metal around me. If she kept doing this, she would bring down the entire cage on us soon.

Her answer was another blow of fire from her fist. I slid on my stomach away from the flash fire and ran to the insane fire starter. I punch the inside of the red skinned woman's wrist and she drops her hands to her sides, like I knew they would after hitting the correct pressure points. I hit her stomach twice, knocking the breath out of her and hit her straight in the neck immediately afterwards. She slumps forwards and I catch her before she falls to the ground.

From above me, I hear the metal crack and I look upwards with the woman in my arms, resting against me, unconscious. The roof of the cage was cracking on the sides and the corners were braking off slowly. It was going to fall on us.

The bars snapped with a "THUNK" and I see the cage ceiling falling inwards, right above Black Blaze and me. It was too late to run, and the unconscious woman in my arms wasn't going to safe herself from her own creation. I immediately push the woman as hard as I can, away from me and use the pushed momentum to fly myself backwards as well. Black Blaze lands in a heap on the far side of the cage, and I land on my feet, watching as the middle of the ceiling crashed down between us.

Metallic tasting air swarms the cage and I crouch as the heat rises from all sides of the trapped box I was in. I swallow hard and try to breathe as the heat continues to rise. I was going to die if I didn't get out of this, and fast.

I look around me and try to find an entrance. The hot metal was distorting the air with a haze like appearance around me and I squint my eyes as the announcer yells something from her little box above my living hell. I block out what she's saying and run to the far left of my area. It wasn't an opening, but it was big enough for me to squeeze through.

The not-really-an-opening-but-more-of-a-hole wasn't large. It was a part of the ceiling that had been broken in half and was shooting heat from the inside if itself, but was broken enough to where I could put my legs through. I shove my left leg threw the opening and wince as the hot air burns the top layers of my skin. Without flinching, I shove my other leg threw the opening and push myself threw the tight hole. On the other side, I fall to the ground in pain and roll myself away from the opening. That had hurt, and I wasn't in the mood to do something like that again.

I flip to my feet and immediately start scanning the hazed air around me for the red skinned woman. She had to be here somewhere. Then on the right side of me, I see a little bit of black hair from Black Blaze. I run to her carefully avoiding the bars of metal around myself and on the floor. Reaching her, I pulled the unconscious woman's arm around my neck, and used the other arm to lift her against me. The sides of the cage shook, and pieces of the wall nearest me fell from the sky. One hit my arm and I felt my skin sizzle and burn. Another hit the back of my calves and I clenched my teeth painfully. I needed an opening and I needed one now.

I ran blindly to the other side of the cage, remembering the opponent before me. What if the hole Bulky had made on my first round was still there? That would be big enough to escape threw. If it was still there.

I get to the other side of the cage, and I search around mechanically. There was no room for errors now. Seeing a dim shadow, I run towards it trying hard not to limp. The shadow got bigger, and I see the hole Bulky had made had lived through the falling metal hurricane. Unfortunately, the hole was right next to the collapsed middle part of the ceiling, so that meant that only one of us could leave at a time. "Damn," I said clenching my jaw and fists.

I run for the only opening anyways. Above me, liquid metal drops from the ceiling and hits every open area of skin I had. I cringe and tighten my lips against themselves, trying not to scream out in pain. I make it to the awkward opening to the cage free air and I immediately push the unconscious girl threw the hole first. She lands face first on the ground and I wince in sympathy. She already had enough burns and bruises on her, she really didn't need a headache to go along with it.

The bars around me crack, and the top of the hole starts to fall inwards. I put my arms in front of my body and superman jump out of the hole, hoping against all hope that I didn't hit any of the bars when they collapsed behind me. I land in a roll and I instantly pull the woman's arms, so she doesn't get hit with flying debris of the now caving inward cage behind us.

I pull her to the farthest corner of the arena backdrop that surrounded the cage and release her on the floor with a gasp. Holy crap I was tired. Immediately people from the fight club run to me and the unconscious woman. "Your winner, Red Butterfly!" the woman announcer exclaims to the shocked crowd around us. No one had been moving, if not breathing from the stands as the cage was falling apart. Now as the announcer's voice traveled across the room, the people jumped to their feet and screamed there delight at the so called winner. ME.

I grimaced and looked at my feet, avoiding the camera screens I knew were pointed at me for the internet viewers. I clenched my fists and swallow hard. I had to breath, just breath. Beneath me unfortunately, was the scarring vision of the badly burned and unconscious woman at my feet when I opened my eyes. My teeth clenched together even harder and my jaw screamed out on pain. Men in black t-shirts picked up the woman and moved her out of my line of sight. I kept my head down and the crowds roared onwards, making my stomach clench and turn in pain. This was disgusting. This was horrible. I had almost died along with someone else and they were cheering like I had won the super bowl.

I look upwards and turn my back on the crowd. They don't stop cheering as I walk down a hallways connected to the cage platform. Behind me, I see men throwing buckets of water on the cage and pulling the bars off the fighting mat in a hurry. I walk onwards, my stomach and teeth still clenched together.

The woman might have started the fire and the destruction of the cage, but no one deserved to be that badly hurt. When I had seen her, I got a small glimpse of her skin and damaged body. And they had almost made me sick. She had had burns running down her body, from the tips of her toes to the top of her head. She was covered with small burns that had come from the falling metal drops in the melting metal ceiling and had several large burns as well. Two of those large burns had been on her back. The entire skin was opened up and red blood was falling from the ragged wound in pools. Others areas around the wound had elevated top layers of skin, showing that she had second degree burns. Second and third degree burns were covering her entire body.

And I had caused them.

I ran to the locker room as fast as I could with my still injured leg and burst through the doors. Just like I had expected, I saw men with white gauze I their hands and hot water around them, trying to patch up the dying woman. I pushed aside men and forced myself to the front of the inexperienced men. "This is no broken knuckle or cracked rib. This is beyond all of your expertise levels. Get out," I sad jumping to the point harshly.

"But-" Said a man in front of me.

"Now," I said threw my teeth glaring at him in the eyes.

"Hey you can't tell us what to-"another one said from the left of me.

"I said NOW" I yelled dripping venom from my voice.

There was a silence from the group of men in front on me. They let the silence continue for a moment until the woman beside me groaned. I narrowed my eyes at one of the men and he visibly flinched under my gaze. I guess that's what happens when a girl covered in burns and scrapes gives you the death stare like the devil himself.

"Now," I said quietly.

The men in the back turned on their heel and soon the other men followed. The ones who had spoken against me gave me a dirty look and followed the rest of the door. When the door was shut behind them, I grabbed two metal chairs from the room and set them against the double doors. They could still get in, but that means I wouldn't be caught off guard if they did.

Turning to the woman, I sighed outwardly. If that fight didn't drain all the energy out of me, this defiantly would. This might even kill me. I hadn't ever worked on so many people in one day before. If I healed her, I would really be pushing myself to my fullest limits. And then I had to get out of here before my next fight. Great.

I walk to Black Blaze and set my hands on top of her shoulders. Swallowing the vomit that threatened to come up my mouth, I let my subconscious sink into the woman's dying body.

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><p>Watching her fight was one thing, but seeing her almost die was something else completely. Black Canary was clenching her hands together as the fight moved onwards. Sure the kid was good with the first guy. Yea, she was a little sloppy with the execution, but she was good at defense, and that mattered most when the odds where piled up against you like they were here in the metahuman fight cages. BUT when the next opponent walked in, she knew Red Butterfly was in trouble. Not only did her next opponent know how to fight, she had a physical power, while Butterfly's was mostly mental and left her at a great disadvantage. Plus, she was hurt and getting tired. This <em>really<em> didn't bode well for Butterfly now.

Then the older woman had the nerve to shoot Butterfly with fire around the cage! Was she insane? The entire cage would collapse! And soon enough, the cage did start collapsing. The ceiling fell in first, and Black Canary had to watch in horror as Butterfly was nearly crushed along with the other woman. Then Bruce _and_ Ollie had to hold her back when the entire cage started falling down on the young woman. She was going to die! Even though she had explained this harshly to Bruce and Ollie, they held her back with grips of iron. "You have to see what she can do when she pushes herself," Batman said calmly.

Like hell! "You can't watch a dead body fight back!" she had told them angrily.

"Look Dinah, she's already getting out," Green Arrow said pointing to the fight below them.

Black Canary looked down below their hiding spot near the skylights and grimaced. Ollie was right. Butterfly did a perfect dive from the inner heart of the cage and rolled to a landing right as the cage completely collapsed on itself. Then without skipping a heartbeat, she pulled her opponent away from the falling death trap as well.

"Damn," Ollie said staring down at the girl.

"She's out," Black Canary said nodding.

"You're worrying over someone who told you to get lost not an hour ago," Batman commented dryly.

Dinah shot him a death glare. "How would you feel if that was Robin?" she asked.

Batman shifted on the metal plank he was squatting on. "That's different," he said looking downwards. "He's my ward."

"That's bullshit Batman." Dinah looked down at the burnet girl below them whose face was also downwards. "She may not know it now, but she's gonna need someone soon. She can't keep doing this without proper training or else she'll get herself killed."

"She's obviously been trained by someone before," Batman said making Black Canary think back to the young woman's previous fights. He was right, someone must have taught her how to do that because she knew those moves didn't just pop out of thin air.

"She's leaving," Green Arrow said.

Black Canary and Batman both looked down again and nodded. "Go through the vents again," Batman ordered.

All three heroes traveled to the edge of the platform they were standing on and exited threw a technicians side door that led straight to the locker rooms.

They followed one another into the side door and went down a couple of sketchy catwalks before landing in the next door locker room. Once inside, they saw Butterfly, standing over the apparent Black Blaze. There were two metal chairs against the nearest door, but the three heroes jumped silently down onto the tops of the tall locker doors around them and watched Butterfly. She set her hands gently on the burns of the injured woman and closed her eyes like she was concentrating very hard. Her eyebrows came down into a 'V' and her teeth were locked together.

Fifteen minutes passed with Red Butterfly staying in the same place with the same concentrated look on her face. Then finally she opened her eyes slowly. She swayed on her feet like she was dizzy and without warning she dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Black Canary widened her eyes and Batman put an arm in front of her before she could take a step towards her. Black Canary stared at him for a moment in complete silence, then nodded knowing what he was going to say. This was her fight; she had to do this by the skin of her teeth and the width of her will. Black Canary stepped backwards and batman dropped his arm satisfied.

Batman kept his eyes on the young woman, his mind calculating and his eyes narrowed. This girl had moves that he had taught his Robin and very few in the world used them. Who had trained her? Someone must have pushed her to be the best, but why? His eye narrowed more. He was getting used to knowing everything, and this girl had too many questions for his comfort and quite frankly his sanity. She was a mystery, one he _was_ going to figure out.

* * *

><p>I finish healing most of her deep wounds and all of her serious injures with a gasp. I let go of her shoulders weakly and I stand up straight while the room spun around me. Well that can't be good. My knees give out beneath me and I fall to the floor, my shoulders shaking in exhaustion.<p>

Finally, it was over.

I had been concentrating for the last few … hours? Minuets? Days? I didn't know, and I didn't care. All I knew was that my body was screaming out pain and my lungs were on fire inside of me. I gasp louder and I heard a loud moan above me where Black Blaze lay. I glanc upwards and pull myself to my feet; pulling my mask over my face again.

I get to the woman's level just as she weakly opened her eyes. "Ah," she says probably mentioning the pain in her body.

"Get yourself to a hospital," I say gruffly, lowering my voice the lower octave.

"What?" she asks weakly, her eyes glancing at me. When she sees me, her eyes widened like a full moon. "You!" she says trying to raise her head. I saw pain reach her eyes and she lowers her head back to the metal table beneath her. "What are you doing here?" she says narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

"Saving your life," I answer plainly.

The narrowed eyes of my past opponent open wide and she opens her mouth slightly. "What?" she asks disbelieving.

"You're burned badly and need hospital help. Get up and get out here before they come looking for you for your next fight," I order without emotion. Then without a backwards glance, I turn away from the injured woman and forced my feet to move away from the woman.

"Wait!" the woman says, all earlier venom in her voice gone. "How did you save me? I saw my burns Butterfly. I should have died." I heard scuffling behind me and I knew she was sitting on top the metal table behind me.

"The air was making everything hazy Blaze. I thought I had six fingers in there," I said glancing back to her. "Everything you thought you saw in that cage was probably only thought up by your imagination. Heat will do that to you as I know you are very well aware of."

Blaze looks uncertain for a moment then accuses me loudly, "You're lying! I don't know what you did, but I know what I saw!"

"What I did?" I ask slowly. I step under one of the few light bulbs in the room and glare at her with the dark shadows on my face from the lone light. "What I did was pull you out of the melting cage you so carelessly burned to the ground, literally," I say looking down at her from several feet away. "I knocked you out in the cage and then saved your dumb ass from being crushed by the cage. I pulled you out because you couldn't defend yourself."

Black Blaze clenches her jaw together and stands up, slightly swaying. "If you're looking for a thank you, you can go ahead and shove it up your-"she says.

"I don't want anything from you. I'm looking for you to get out of here and get to a hospital," I say sinking back into the shadows.

"Why do you care?" she asks squinting her eyes at where I was.

I was silent for a moment, then making my voice monotone, I say slowly, "I'd hate to beat you up when you're weak Black Blaze." I paused. "It just wouldn't be fair."

She sneers. "So until next time?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

I sneer back. "Only if you're still in my league," my voice full of false self-confidence.

She scoffs at my self-confidence and starts walking to the door. "I don't know what you did Butterfly, and I don't care to ask. You saved me, twice. And in my books, that means I owe you. Twice." She was at the door way now and she looks back at me with raised eyebrows. "I mean it. I don't take charity from anyone, so you need something, you let me know." I nod from the shadows and Black Blaze takes my silence as a yes. "I look forward to our next meeting Butterfly." Then she leaves with a swish of her long black hair, and I see her run down the hallway to freedom.

The door closes behind her, and I immediately hit the ground. My legs had been shaking throughout our entire conversation and only my pride held me upwards. My arms and legs collapse beneath me to the ground from exhaustion and pain. My lungs burn and my stomach twists inside of me in pain. I close my eyes briefly and clench my hands. _Get up,_ I tell myself nd order my body. _Get up, now!_

I push myself up to my hands and knees. By pure willpower, I force my lungs to work and I gasp inwards. Oxygen hits me and I sallow instinctively. My head pounded like I had been kicked by a horse and my entire body tingled in pain.

I had _completely_ overworked myself, and I knew it. My body was protesting at just inhaling and exhaling. My stomach clenched and I swallowed. I was going to be sick. I swallowed again and gasped. I was gonna be sick _now!_

Ignoring my pain and dizziness, I threw myself towards a grey metal door in the back of the room that most people walked by unnoticed. I pushed the door backwards and came out into a side ally. I ran to a gray dumpster and hurled what was left of my breakfast that morning onto the gray asphalt. After two or three more times, I just stood bent over with my hands on my knees. Using the back of my long sleeve shirt, I wiped my mouth and went back into my bent position.

From behind me, I heard the soft tap of leather boots, and I didn't move. I could guess who it was. I felt a soft hand on my back and I glanced up. Blue eyes stared into my red contacts and I swallowed. It looked like she was seeing into my soul and was unleashing all my loneliness and pain. I turned my head away from Black Canary and spoke into the asphalt below me.

"What?" I ask in almost a sigh.

Black Canary didn't say anything, but made circles on my back. My breath hitched and I hurled again, right in front of Black Canary. I gasped when I was done and I clenched my fists together. God this was so embarrassing! I'm puking my guts out right in front of one of the most bad ass heroes in the world!

Canary didn't seem to notice that I was mentally slapping myself in the face over and over again, but instead, kept making circles on my back with her hands. Her gloved fingers were firm but gentle as they moved; making my shoulders and fingers relax subconsciously. I breathed slower, and after another minuet, I stood up face to face with Black Canary. My mask hung limply on my neck because of my latest sickness and Black Canary's eyes absorbed my maskless face. I stared at her and then wordlessly pulled up my mask over my face.

"This changes nothing Canary," I say putting my hands on my hips and pulling up all my walls of defense and anger. "You've seen my face, and that makes you a threat. If I see you again, you will be an enemy and I will not hesitate to strike at your worst moment." My voice was hard, cold and emotionless. I couldn't afford to mess up like this every again. Black Canary stared me in the eyes and said nothing. Unnerved at her silence, I turn my back to her and start walking back to the metal door back into the fighting club again.

"Why do you go back after what just happened?" she asks from behind me, her voice cold.

I turn to her. Why? I needed the money for Miranda's medicine. "I don't have a choice," I answer instead, still not warm to her yet.

"Everyone has a choice," she says back immediately.

I shake my head. "Most people do, but someone my age can't get their hands on money unless they fight in the cages or do drugs. This is just the lesser of two evils."

"So it's about money?" she asks.

I shrug slightly. "Isn't it always?"

"Why?" she asks not letting me go without answers.

I turn back to the door. "I need the money," was all I answered as I step into the club again. I close the door behind me and run to my designated casher, pushing back my memory of the blonde hero to the back of my head. I just needed to get my money and get out.

"Butterfly!" a thin and slimy voice called to me from the corner of the hallway I was running down.

"Joe," I said nodding.

"Girl, you did great out there! Roulette was so happy with the outcome of the money rise, she's giving you fifteen hundred dollars!" The man in front of her was five foot four with greasy black hair and small gray eyes. He wore a cheap suit and one thick gold ring on his middle finger. He fist pumped the air at his last announcement and handed me a thick envelope. "Here's your money Butterfly. Spend well and don't forget about your next match in ten minutes."

"I won't be here," I said turning away from him.

"Yea yea, you won't be back until… hey hey! Where you goin babe? You gots money to be makin me!" he yelled at my disappearing form in the hallway.

"I'm done Joe. For tonight, I'm done. Tell Roulette. I'll see you in three days," I say deadpanned.

"What? Butterfly you got another fight! Babe you need to go in, it's worth more than all the money in that envelope!" he yelled to me.

"Bye Joe," I say, running now away from my casher. I go through doors and hallways, and finally I get outside.

My lungs hit fresh air instead of stale, bloody and metallic air in the club. Fresh air. Enjoying the change for a moment, I run away from the club at max speed and head home. It would take me awhile without a car, and I would probably have to stop once in a while because of my injuries, but I doubted it would take me all night to get home.

Home. I smiled at the thought, but changed my direction despite my heart's desire. Instead, I sprinted down three blocks and stopped beside a broken down black car that had been there since the beginning of time.

"You're here early," an old voice said from beside the car.

"I got off early," I said still behind my mask.

"You got the money?" he asks jumping the pleasantries.

"Always," I say taking out my thick envelope.

"Two thousand like always," he says making sure the price still stood.

"Of course," I say opening the envelope. Inside were hundred dollar bills stacked together with a couple of twenties in between. Roulette had given me eight hundred for the two wins I had gotten and then fifteen hundred more for my theatrics with Black Blaze. I pulled out two thousand dollars and handed them to my supplier.

He looked threw them and then pulled out a paper bag. Inside he opened the top of it and I saw four bottles of black bottles without writing on them. "You're sure it's stronger?" I ask.

The older man nods and passes me the bag. The medication is stronger than the last batch. Each one should last for an entire week."

"How much more for it?" I ask narrowing my eyes.

"This times free to show that it works. But next time I want five hundred more for every four bottles."

"Five hundred?" I ask unbelieving.

"My medical license could be taken away from me if anyone found out that I was making illegal medicine in the labs!" he cries to me. His eyes nervously flash to the left, then the right. "Free this time. Five hundred next time," he says finishing his rant.

I nod once and he turns his back on me. I clutch the illegal medicine in my hands and I run the other direction from the man. I hit the corner of the street and take off as fast as I can to home. I use the side streets and back alleys, to make sure no one followed me.

Two hours later, I make it home and I unlock the door in front of me. I step through my front door and lock behind me. I change into a long white t-shirt and boy boxers that reached to the middle of my thighs. I placed my fighting outfit in my closet again, knowing I was going to have to clean it and patch up a couple to holes in the bottoms and shirt. I place the money in the back of my closet and I close the closet door. Then immediately afterwards, I run to the bathroom and take out my contacts into the compact mirror again. After leaving no evidence of Red Butterfly on me, I check on my sister in her room.

She was tucked in her blankets just where I had left her before I left. She turns slightly in her sleep and I smile. Every burn, scratch, wound, and heart ache was worth it for my little angel. As long as I got to make her feel better with the medicine, the fighting didn't matter. The crowds, Roulette, the fights, Joe and even Black Canary didn't matter to me in the least. All there was for me was her. She was all my sunlight, all my love and all my air wrapped up tight in my heart with bold lettering that said 'MIRANDA' on it.

I grin again and I step away from her bedroom to my own bedroom. Oh god I was tired. I shifted slightly and I winced. Tonight's burns and bruises were gonna hurt in the morning and I groaned knowing the oncoming pain was going to kick my butt. Thank god I wasn't going to cheer practice tomorrow. Or…. Today? I look at the digital clock at the nightstand near my bed and groan again. 4:27 in the morning. Lovely.

I collapse against my pillow and let my subconscious fall onto myself, healing and sleeping awaiting me in my dreams.

* * *

><p>As soon as she had run from the man on the deserted street, Batman swept in and tacked the man to the ground. "Ahh!" the man yelled loudly squirming and yelling louder.<p>

"Quiet," Batman said to the older man.

Immediately the man stopped shouting and sat trembling under Batman's touch. "What did you just give to her?" Batman asked the supplier. Batman didn't think the girl was into drugs, but then again, he didn't think the girl would be so good in the ring either. His mistake.

"What are you talking about?" the man asked in a high pitched voice. Some drug dealer.

Batman turned the man so he was face to face with him. The old man's eyes widened and he dropped his mouth open a little. "B-Batman?" he asked scared out of his mind.

Batman stared at the man in the eyes. "Speak," he said.

". ." He said stumbling over his own words quickly and by the speed of sound.

"Slower," Batman ordered. He had caught most of it, but he was still confused.

"Red Butterfly gives me two thousand dollars for every four bottles of medicine that I make for her at the medical labs. She said she would pay me t-two thousand dollars for my help because she knew someone who was sick and she needed me to make it for her," he said spitting it out with forced slowness.

"What kind of medicine are you making for her?" Batman asked him.

"It's not for her, it's for someone else. Well, that's what she told me anyways," the doctor said nervously.

"Answer me!" Batman grabbed the front of the doctors black jacket. His front button snapped, and his ID card was shown threw the opening. "Dr. Deckins," he said in a monotone.

Deckins swallowed hard and said thickly, "It's a cell neutralizer with proteins and acids for the stimulates in the brain and heart."

Batman knew the man wasn't lying from the fear in his eyes. "I've never heard of a drug that can do that," he said with narrowed eyes.

"T-That's because its illegal in America and most parts of the world," he said flinching from Batman's gaze.

"Why's t illegal?" Batman more ordered than asked. "What are the side effects of the drug?"

"It's addictive!" he said loudly and flinched again. "Peoples immune systems can't stand the change of stimulants going through the body, that's why it's illegal!" he said quickly for the Dark Knight.

The dark knight dropped the man to the ground. Immune system…

Something clicked in his mind and he walked away from the shaking man on the ground. "Keep supplying to her until she wants out," Batman said as he walked away from the doctor. "And drop the price." Then with a swish of his black cape, Batman jumped into the air and swung from his grappling gun into the early morning air.

The doctor shrank to the ground and didn't move for the next hour, least batman come back for him. Man, he needed a new job.

* * *

><p><strong>HAHA Yea... If I met Batman like that, I would probably be just as scared as that guy. Scary!<strong>

**REVIEW my little Robins, REVIEW!**

**k, next up, ... yea idk you'll see :)**

**~missmusicluver**


	10. Chapter 10

I woke up the next morning to a blonde little head tucked under my arm. She was grasping onto my fingers while she slept, and every few moments her fingers would clench as if to make sure my hand was still there between hers. Her legs shifts and she turns on her side to face me, still completely unconsciously. I grin at her tight fingers around mine and grin even wider at her choice in pajamas.

She shifts again and I swallow a laugh at how insistent my sister had been about getting her these pajamas. Last year, after announcing quite firmly to me that Robin was her favorite superhero, she made me buy her all types of advertised spirit wear for the young hero for her to have. And that included Robin colored pajama bottoms and a large robin symboled t-shirt that reached to the middle of the wearers thighs. The very pajamas she was wearing at that very moment, all twisted around her small body in sleep movement.

Her head snuggles closer to my chest and I lift my arm to her. Immediately pain shoots threw my arm and down the muscles of my back. I wince at the sudden ferocity of the attack and I carefully extend my bruised and cramping muscles to Miranda. I wrap her in a half hug close to me and count her breaths as I stare at the walls of my room. The clock on the bedside table told me it was 8:45 in the morning which explained why Miranda was in my bed and not her own. She probably didn't want to wake me up, and just slipped into bed with me instead of demanding breakfast like any other six year old would have done. Why she wasn't up running around like any other child her age though did worry me. Was she really sick? Was that even possible with her immune system condition? The both of us had never once ever been sick in our entire lives, but then again she did have her own exception.

I quietly remove myself from my sleeping sister and stand up with teeth clenched together. My back, shoulders, arms, calves, and thighs protested with a striking outburst. Pain shoots through every pore in my body and I nearly fall to my knees. So, I hadn't really healed over the course of the night apparently.

As quietly as my body would let me go, I step out of my room and close the door behind me. She would be up soon enough and the little monster was going to be hungry. I crack my neck to the left and the right while rotating my shoulders. It loosened some of the tension in my upper back, but I knew I would need to stretch a lot more before my body would move normally for me. Ignoring my complaining body, I got out the breakfast material I would need for today.

We were running out of eggs, bread, milk, butter and apples it seems to me as I open the refrigerator door. I make a mental note to pick up groceries with the newest cash flow I had received last night and pull out the rest of the nearly cleared out food. In another few minutes I had French toast frying on a pan with breakfast sausages in another next to it. Beside the stove I had my leg propped up on the counter and was bending over my leg, stretching out the crincks from last night. The French toast was smoking at the bottom lightly and I flip over the French toast piece while switching to my other leg on the counter. I pull my boy boxers lower on my hips as I stretch my calves and rotate my stiff ankle. God my body was _killing_ me.

I rotated my shoulders again and place the first finished piece of French toast on a paper plate beside the stove. I dip a new piece of bread into my premade batter and throw it onto the frying pan. A satisfying sizzling sound comes from the bread and I stand up straight with both feet on the ground. Then I let myself twist backwards and fall into a bridge, feet and hands on the ground but my stomach was bent upwards in a half circle. I smile as my stomach and chest muscles loosen in my stance.

"What are you doing?" A small voice asks from beyond my feet.

I flip my feet over my head and land on my feet in perfect balance. I stare at where the voice came from and grin slightly. Miranda stood at the edge of the kitchen holding the ends of her elbows with her hands and leaned against the side of the counter fully suited in her Robin pajamas. She had an almost amused smile on her face like a mother finding her child doing something ridiculous but hilarious at the same moment. Though she was years younger and nearly a foot and a half shorter, for a moment, she looked like the living image of momma.

I smile with a full set of pearly whites and give her the full cheerleader-optimistic –hands-on-hip-stance. "Morning," I say grinning wildly.

"What were you doing?" she asks again tipping her head to one side.

"Stretching," I say casually.

"In the kitchen?" she asks confused. Of course I had told her several times over never to mess around in the kitchen. I guess right now I looked like quite the hypocrite.

"Yes, but I better never find you doing it," I say looking her in the eye.

"The toast is burning," she commented to the frying pan next to me.

I drop my sister's gaze and I turn to the smoking food in a quick jerk and flip the toast casually. It was darker than I would have liked, but it wasn't burned. "So." I say turning back to her.

She locks eyes with me and puckers her mouth in a frown. "Where were you last night?" she asks folding her arms tighter across her chest.

I raise an eyebrow. "Shopping," I say in a half lie.

"Then where's the new food?" she asks looking to the French toast.

"I wasn't grocery shopping silly. I was getting more of your medicine. Got four more bottles this time, and guess what?" I ask.

Miranda looks skeptical. "What?" she asks.

"The medicine is a newer version, so it will last longer for you than the others you've taken before. You'll only have to take a shot once a week," I say smiling softly to her.

Her reaction was a happy smile. "Really?" she asks completely forgetting about my disappearance last night.

"Yep, and to celebrate, I'm making French toast and sausages with orange juice!" I say beaming, to the stove. "And you're taking today off from school. Just in case you didn't know already," I saw looking at the clock on the microwave across the room that now read nine in the morning.

Miranda runs up to me and I pick her up in a heartbeat. I place her on the counter next to the stove so she can watch the process of her breakfast meal being made. She sits on top the counter happily, her face showing she liked the sparked noted version of my decisions this morning. "So," she says looking down at the French toast, copying my line not five minutes before.

"So," I say again, now copying her.

"What are we gonna do today if we're not gonna go to school?" she asks looking up at me in curiosity.

I shrug my shoulders indifferently. "Whatever you want to do, in the house," I say making the last part of the sentence louder than the first.

"Anything?" she asks smiling.

"Anything you want. You deserve after yesterday," I say looking her in the eyes. She nods to me remembering the chaotic afternoon yesterday and shakes her head.

"So does that mean I can play on your computer?" she asks shyly with hope in her voice.

I glance at her, and squint my eyes playfully at her. "Maybe," I say. "After I work a little on my history essay, then we'll talk about it."

She smiles ruefully and nods to the French bread I have neglected to flip again. I sigh and take out the bread, then add a new piece of battered bread. "Speaking of talking about something," Miranda says looking at me with nervous eyes. I looked at her with an open face and she continues on wards, "Angelina at school said that her mom lets her walk a block to the bus station by herself," she says. My stomach drops. I knew where this was going. She had been hinting at it for the last three days at random points in the day. "And I was just thinking that maybe I could walk by myself for the first-"

"No," I say cutting her off.

"Jez!" she says complaining at my quick decision.

"Miranda you're way too young to be walking by yourself," I say flipping the toast, not looking up at her.

"It's only one block!" she says throwing her hands up in the air.

"No," I say again, hinting at an edge of steel.

"But Jez," she says again a whining tone in her voice. "Angelina's mom lets her walk! And it's only one block! You could see me the entire way, if you met me halfway instead of right at the bus stop, I could just-"

"No," I say cutting her off for the final time. I look into her blue eyes and I give her the cool, steel decision. "No."

Miranda opens her mouth, then closes it, knowing there wasn't a chance I was going to change my mind. She sniffed in annoyance and crossed her legs on the counter.

"Breakfasts ready," I say breaking her cold silence.

Miranda says nothing and I hand her a plate full of sausages and a single slice of French toast. "Get yourself a glass of orange juice and then you can pick the cartoons we watch, okay?" I ask glancing at her. She doesn't say anything and I grab her chin lightly so she's looking into my eyes. "Okay?" I ask again but this time I smile slightly at her.

Miranda looks at me solemnly for a moment before a small smile spreads across her face. She rolls her eyes at me. "Okay," she says and jumps down the counter to get her orange juice.

I grin at her change in tactics and muse silently to myself. She was stubborn. More stubborn even then me at some points. I knew this conversation wasn't over. Far from it. She was going to play along until she got a better time to jump at me.

God sometimes she scares me.

* * *

><p>Bruce Wayne straightened his tie before pressing call into his phone while pulling out of the driveway with a blue Novitec Ferrari F430 Spider at his touch.<p>

"Hello?" Clark Kent answered.

"I found her last night," Bruce said into the secure line.

Bruce heard Clark choke on the air he was breathing and Bruce smiled slightly. "What? Already? What happened?" he asked about the young woman.

"I'll fill you in later. Meet me at the diner in fifteen minutes," Bruce said to him.

"I can't just drop everything and head over Bruce; I do have a job I would like to keep," Clark said in a huff. Not exactly annoyed, but not pleased either.

"I'm going to need a reason to see her. And that reason will include you, so fifteen minutes," he said again.

"Wait you're going to see her now?" Clark asked from across the phone shocked.

"After I tell you what happened yesterday with Dinah and Ollie," Bruce said turning his car out of his mansion and driving to the diner already.

"Dinah and Ollie were there with you? Wait no, okay I'll be there in a minuet," Clark said. Then with a hiss of static Bruce tucked the phone into his jacket pocket with a slight grin. Predictable as always.

Ten minutes later, Bruce stopped in front of the diner and got out. He made his way in and wasn't surprised to see his friend already sitting at a table with a waitress looking down on him. "- piece of pie, thanks," he heard him say as he walked over to him.

"And a cup of coffee, black," he said to the waitress, nodding to Clark in greeting as he walked forwards to them. The waitress nodded and headed behind the counter with the order ready to give to the chef. "Clark," he said in hello.

"Bruce," Clark smiled to him warmly.

Bruce slid into the seat cross from Clark and placed his hands in front of him on the table. Clark gave him a look and Bruce nodded in acknowledgement. "I was in Watchtower going through the surveillance camera from the break in last night." Clark nodded, catching up to the story Bruce was painting out in front of him. "When her house alarm went off-"

"You put an alarm in her house?" the reporter asked lifting an eyebrow.

"Not in; around her house. And yes, I had an alarm placed to let me know if someone entered or left her apartment," Bruce explain. Clark looked like he didn't like the alarm, but he nodded once to let Bruce continue. "Her house alarm went off and I checked to see what had happened." The waitress came and dropped a pie of pie in front of Clark and gave Bruce his cup of coffee silently before heading back to the counter. "Apparently, our cheerleader in question leads a double life."

Clark raised both eyebrows in shock. A double life? "Was she doing something illegal?"

"Yes and no." Bruce took a sip of his coffee. "She works for a fight club that changes location every three days around the country."

"That Bruce, I would believe is very illegal," Clark answered, cutting into his pie.

"It is, yes, but the fact that the meta human fight club was owned by Roulette gives her leeway. We both know how persuasive she can be when a girl with no options needs money," Bruce said.

Clark nodded at his friend, thinking about the young woman. "Why does she need money? Is she not getting a big enough allowance from her parents?"

"Both her parents are dead. The mother died from her younger sister's child birth and her father died two years afterwards, causes unknown," Bruce said to him, the girl's history report running threw his mind.

"So who's taking care of her then?" Clark asked his hands wrapped around his own coffee.

"She's emancipated from her foster parent of four years; her next door neighbor, Zenchui Shoi. He died from a heart failure eleven months ago," Bruce said listing off her history he had already memorized.

"And her sister?" Clark asked.

"Living with her, as her legal guardian," Bruce said taking another sip of his coffee.

"That's not legal is it Bruce?" Clark asks thinking of the young child.

"No, it's not. Apparently though, every year the government coincidentally looks over this problem of not having a proper adult taking care of both children."

"So someone's hiding them," Clark said laying down the statement.

Bruce nodded. "Someone's hiding the both of them, hence the money she needs to pay that person off." Bruce took another sip of his coffee quietly.

"There's something you're not telling me about this," Clark said staring at his friend with a hard stare. "Why else does she need that money she's literally fighting for?"

Bruce looked over at the man across from him and dark more of his coffee. "Her sister is dying."

"What?" Clark asks leaning back in his seat. Well that's not what he was expecting.

Bruce instead began to explain the story he, Dinah and Ollie had been through. He explained the fights, the healing, Dinah's unforeseen compassion to the young woman, and finally Bruce's run in with the doctor. "I took a sample he was carrying from another hidden bottle in his coat and examined it this morning. The ingredients in it are in fact strong vitamins and stimulants to make the heart and brain work properly. The doctor wasn't lying to me when he said it was addictive though. The components of the drug are highly dangerous and it could be detrimental to someone's immune system."

"But Jezebelle's immune system wasn't even affected by Poison Ivy's toxin. If her sister has her abilities, then the child wouldn't be in any danger from the drug," Clark commented.

"Exactly," Bruce said nodding. "The drug itself might be dangerous to others, but to her unique situation, the drug is simply a medicine that helps Miranda get on with her life."

"What exactly does she have?" Clark asked about the girl's disease.

"There is no name for it," Bruce said. "Others across history have had it once or twice, and none of them were ever cured of it. The disease simply degenerates the body's tissue in the brain and around the heart so its' victim lives just long enough to know he or she is sick, but can do nothing about it."

"But this drug is stopping it?" Clark asked leaning forwards again.

"No, it's only slowing it down. The drug is like a type of cancer, only it's slower, but more dangerous to the carrier."

"Is there anything we can-," Clark started to ask.

"I'm looking into it," Bruce interrupted.

Clark sighed out. "So it seems you have it under control. Why am I here then Bruce?" he asked.

"I want to investigate the cage fights and how she managed to get threw it mostly unfazed," Bruce said bluntly.

"So this has nothing to do with the fact that she single handedly took down a villainess and saved Dick?" Clark asked. "This is just about the cage fighting?"

Bruce nodded closely and drained the coffee from his cup. The waitress immediately noticed and gave him more. "The cage fights need to be stopped."

Clark stared at Bruce and nodded. "They need to be stopped," he agreed with the man. "So how are we going to talk to her?"

"I'm going to apologize, and you're coming with me," Bruce said casually.

Clark nodded casually. Apologize? The Dark Knight? "Right," he said leaning back in his chair.

* * *

><p>The electric keyboard beneath my fingers plays the notes in a sorrowful memory as my hands fly across the keys. The music flows through my body and the slow rhythm echoes off the walls in my bedroom. The door opens behind me and I don't look up. I play on with the notes in my head and I sway with the music in my ears.<p>

My sister walks into the room and sits down beside me as I finish the next page of music in front of me. I release my fingers from the keys and I look over to her. "You want to help me?" I ask quietly.

Miranda shakes her head. "No I want to listen," she says.

I smile lightly at her and ask, "And what would you like to listen to?"

Miranda looked at the piano for a moment and said, "The one you sang to me from Happy Feet."

"Which one sweets?" I ask opening up my lap to her. She climbed up on me and put her hands on the keys like a professional.

"Bridge… Bridge of …" she says trying to think really hard.

"Light?" I ask smiling.

"Yea that one!" she says smiling up at me.

I smile and grab both of her hands under mine gently. "Follow my fingers, don't go against it," I say quietly. Miranda nods eagerly and I place our hands on the piano. I take a deep breath and sing quietly at first: "Just when you think

Hope is lost

And giving up

Is all you got," I press her hands on the keys with mine and we both play the notes together.

"Blue turns black,

Your confidence is cracked,

There seems no turning back from here," I sing the last word in a whisper.

"Sometimes there isn't an obvious explanation

Why the holiest hearts can feel the strongest palpitations."

Then singing louder than before, "That's when you can build a bridge of light,

That's what turns the wrongs all right

That's when you can't give up the fight

That's when love turns nighttime into day,

That's when loneliness goes away,

That's why you gotta be strong tonight,

Only love can build us a bridge of light

When your feet are made of stone

You're convinced that you're all alone

Look at the stars instead of the dark

You'll find your heart shines like the sun

Let's not let our anger get us lost

And the need to be right comes at way too high a cost

That's when love can build a bridge of light

That's what turns the wrongs all right

That's when you know it's worth the fight

That's when love turns nighttime into day

That's when loneliness goes away,

That's why you gotta be strong tonight

'cause only love can build us a bridge of light," we paused and I led our hands across the harmony while swaying slightly at the music.

"Deep breath, take it on the chin

But don't forget to let love back in

That's when love can build a bridge of light

That's what turns the wrongs all right

That's when you can't give up the fight

That's when love turns nighttime into day,

That's when loneliness goes away

That's why you gotta be strong tonight

'cause only love can build us a bridge of light

Only love can build us a bridge of light...

Of light...

Of light..."

"Of light," my sister sang quietly in front of me. Our hands stopped playing and I pulled my own back from hers.

"You feeling okay?" I ask wrapping my arms around the small body in front of me and holding her against me.

"Do you look at the stars?" she asked for her answer.

"Every night," I answer looking at her blonde head. "Do you?"

Miranda's head tips forward in a nod. "When you tell me stories of mommy," she nearly whispers.

I pull her against me and lay head on top of hers. "Mommy loved you," I say to her, knowing she was going to start crying. "She loved you more than all the stars in the sky," I whisper back.

"Do you love me more than all the stars in the sky?" Miranda asked turning to me. "Do you love mommy more than all the stars?"

"I love both of you more than all the stars sweety. I love you past the stars, and all the planets and the whole universe," I say sweeping my arms out beside me to show how much space was in the universe. "I love you most in the whole world."

"More than daddy?" she asks leaning her head against my chest.

I grimace at the word and pull her to me again. "More than daddy," I say.

We sat there in front of the electrical piano for minuets, letting them pass us in a blur. Then finally, trying to break the dark mood that lay in the air, I say much happier than my last comment, "You know what? Why don't you go get both of us a drink of water and we can sing a song together? I'll even let you pick whatever song you want."

Miranda looked up from my chest surprised. "Really? You'll teach me it too?" she asks smiling wider.

I nod. "Whatever you want." Then smiling, I push her towards the door. "Hurry up before I change my mind!"

Miranda breaks into a full faced smile and runs out the door, closing it behind her with an excited 'BANG'. I turn back to the piano and start playing again, unaware of the smile still on my face from making Miranda 180 her emotions.

* * *

><p>Bruce and Clark met again in front of Jezebelle's apartment after they had finished speaking in the diner. Clark landed in a dark alley, way from prying eyes in the dingy neighborhood while Bruce parked his car in front of the gray building. "This is the place?" Clark asked.<p>

Bruce nodded. "Press pass out?"

"Like always," Clark answered.

Together, they stepped onto the side steps in the building and made their way to Jezebelle's apartment. They reached her door and Clark looked at Bruce. "You knock," he said.

Bruce looked over to the six foot three man. "Why should I do it? You're the reporter. You knock."

"You dragged me here. You knock," Clark said nodding to the door.

Bruce opened his mouth to say something back, when the door in front of them opened up without the knock needed. In front of both men were an open door and a small blonde haired girl with large blue eyes staring at them. She was holding a plastic blue cup of water in one hand and the door in the other.

"I don't know you," she said to them frankly.

"We're here to talk to your sister," Clark said smiling at the girl. Much to his amusement, the girl was wearing Robin symboled pajamas with the matching bottoms.

"Is she here?" Bruce asked smiling his million dollar play-boy smile.

"Yes," Miranda said to them, still holding the door tightly. It was obvious that Miranda didn't like or trust strangers.

Clark looked at her pajamas and smiled sheepishly to her, "I like your pajamas."

Miranda turned to the reporter and immediately smiled brightly at him like he had just given her free ice cream for a year. "You do?" she asked smiling. "I have it cause Robin's my favorite superhero." She looked up at the tall man and Clark couldn't help but smiling back down at her.

"What about Batman?" he asked. "Isn't he better than Robin?"

Miranda looked at him and shook her blonde head. "No, that's Jez's favorite superhero. Mines Robin cause he's not as scary as Batman."

"Ah," Clark said nodding to her.

Miranda nodded too. "But Jez says that Batman's only scary because he has to scare the criminals and that he's not scary to the good people. So I shouldn't be scared of him." She looked up at both men and shook her head at them. "But I still think he's scary. That's why Robin better. He wears red and yellow too!"

Clark smiled and looked over at Bruce with an amused glance. Bruce was staring down at her spirit worn pajamas with an empty expression.

"Miranda where's the water you said you were-" a voice came from behind Miranda. Then a short gasp came and they heard footsteps towards the door. "Miranda what did I say about opening doors to strangers?" said the other voice now behind the door. "You never know who it could-" she said and opened the door wider to look at the strangers at the door.

* * *

><p>I open the door to see who my sister was talking to and I froze for heart beat. Oh crap crap crap crap crap. They were worse than Black Canary or even the police. It was my future boss and a reporter. Did I mention I was still in my boy boxers and overly large white t-shirt? Yea, FML.<p>

"Uhh," I say intelligently.

"Jezebelle," Bruce freaking Wayne says to me with a nod.

I nod back to him quickly and turn to Miranda beside me. "Why don't you go to my room, okay? I'll be there in a couple of minutes."

Miranda looks up at me then at the two men across from me. She nods and I thank god in my head that she doesn't argue with me. But before she leaves, she has to get the last word with the two men in front of me. "Do you think I'm too young to walk by myself a block after I get off my bus station?"

Both men stare at her, shocked at her change in topic and I take her by the shoulder. "You, my room, now," annoyed at her now. She glances back at both men who were staring silently, before walking down the hallway behind me in a huff.

"Sorry bout that," I say to them as I turn away from my sisters retreating image in the hallway. I stare at both men and close the door in front of me and my long legs. "What can I do for you?" I ask politely.

The man with the reporter pass in his front shirt pocket looked at Bruce Wayne. I recognized him from the break in at Wayne Enterprise, and a name popped in my mind. Conner's dad, Clark Kent.

"We are here to talk about what happened yesterday at Wayne Enterprise," Bruce Wayne states calmly at her.

I raise my eyebrows and look over to the reporter who was staying silent. An awkward silence settles over the three people and I open the door in front of the two men. "Come on in," I sigh knowing this was just the beginning.

Bruce took the offer and steps into the living room first. The reporter was a step behind him. I led them both into the living room couches and I sat on an armchair while they settle themselves cross from me. I fold my legs beneath me, vainly trying to hide the large amount of skin I was showing to both of them. They looked around the room and they saw the tv with the DVD player beneath it. When they looked to the left, they saw professionally taken pictures of Me, Miranda and some with the cheer team and other friends. None of the pictures on the wall or the shelves held images of my mom or dad, but that was the way I liked it. "So," I start off saying. "Would you like anything to drink?" I ask politely.

"No thank you," Bruce Wayne says and the reporter nods in agreement. I nod and settle myself in the armchair, waiting for them to start. "Yesterday, while the tour was going on, a villainess by the name of Poison Ivy broke into the company and it seems by the security footage that she kidnapped Miranda Keating from her class on the first floor."

I nod as he takes a breath. "Yes, she told me about that yesterday."

"Unfortunately, the footage of the kidnapping ended when an explosion broke all the cameras in the room after the Young Justice team arrived," Bruce says to me, his eyes staring at mine unblinking.

"That is unfortunate," I say nodding. "But why are you here? I'd rather just have Miranda forget everything she saw yesterday."

"Miss Keating, your sister was kidnapped in my business and on my clock no less. It is the responsibility of Wayne Enterprise to make sure that we take care of any threats or casualties that may have happened in its walls," he tells me straightly. Anger boils in my veins at his words. He had pretty much said Miranda was an insurance threat to his company and he was there to throw money at it. She was not an _insurance threat_. She was my sister and this playboy was getting me mad at the way he casually threw words around.

I stare at Bruce Wayne and the reporter. "And Mr. Kent is here to make sure the public knows that your threat on insurance is taken care of." I didn't say the words cruelly, but I didn't say them nicely either.

Bruce Wayne's eye brows rose slightly, and I hardened my eyes to his blue eyes that flash a moment of curiosity. The flash went away and the playboy manner came back stronger than ever. "I can assure you Miss Keating that our first priority is the wellbeing of your sister and the amount of compensation of the situation will be dealt with accordingly as well."

"I don't want your money Mr. Wayne. Nor your publicity that will come if we had decided to sue. We have no wish to sue or in any way harm your company with an insurance issue. My sister was not hurt thanks to the young justice team that arrived according to you and my sister. And with that, we see no reason to condemn you to a lawsuit that was not instigated by you but by the hands of a woman with no regrets and no personal respect for human life." I stood up and looked down at the still sitting men. "With all of this being said, there is no reason for you to continue to worry about the wellbeing of my sister."

Clark Kent had his eyebrows up and he was looking distinctly uncomfortable on the couch next to Mr. Wayne. While Mr. Wayne on the other hand had lost the smile and was looking at me with an expression I didn't know the playboy could actually make. It was calculating and narrowed as if I had surprised him with my demanding and cold cut words for him.

"Very well," he said getting up to his feet from the couch. Clark the reporter stood up beside him and looked from the both of nervously. "I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to discuss this with me," he nods to me.

I nod and give him a bright smile. "I appreciate your movement to see if my family was okay," I say faking an appreciative tone.

He nods to me in acknowledgment and walks to the door with the reporter a step behind him. I follow them to the door and open it for them. They walk out swiftly and before Bruce Wayne could leave for good, I say loudly, "Mr. Wayne?"

He turns and looks at me carefully. "Yes?" he asks.

I smile lightly and a little nervously. "I would appreciate it if you would forget about this meeting when you interview me about the internship later this month."

Bruce Wayne pauses a moment then nods to me in agreement. I smile and nod back at him in a silent deal. "Have a nice day Mr. Wayne," I say before he turns away.

"And to you too Miss. Keating," he says. Then without another word, he turns and walks down my apartment staircase, his expensive suit and Italian leather shoes looking very out of place in my dingy apartment complex.

* * *

><p><strong>Hmm interesting am i not right?<strong>

**yes, yes it is :P**

**So what did you think? any question? go ahead, ask, im open to all questions.**

**mmm kay have a nice day to all you crazy Robin lovers :)**

**~missmusicluver**


	11. Chapter 11

Robin was in Mt. Justice, and was searching through the computer data base.

He had been searching for the last half hour for the security footage of the Wayne Enterprise break in, and so far he had had no luck. He was positive that someone had been there though. Batman had even let it slip before Robin was fully active and awake that a certain female had been at the break-in just a second before. Robin new Batman knew who she was, but didn't understand why he was hiding t from him. And the team.

The girl had saved their butts! Robin had _seen _the burn marks Artemis had gotten before she was pulled away to the ceiling. He _knew_ Aqualad had been seriously hurt before he was knocked out. Then when Robin had went to go and help his friends, they were fine. Not a scratch on their bodies. If anything, they felt rejuvenated like they had been at a spa for the last week instead of nearly being fatally hurt by a villainess.

Artemis was just as puzzled at the newfound injury free body as Robin was. She had _definitely_ remembered the flames licking her skin and burning her flesh. Aqualad had also reported that his injury was shockingly healed and didn't hurt in the least. He was also shocked to know that someone could have healed him using water. Not a lot of people could heal an Atlantian on land, if any.

Now _that _had made no sense to him. How was the girl capable of healing his team mates? Did she really take down Poison Ivy all by herself? Was that even possible for a civie to do?

Those were the questions burning threw his mind Saturday morning as he checked, hacked and rechecked threw the Justice League database. The video had to be _somewhere. _He left the mainstream of videos in the database and instead went through the history. Knowing Batman, he would have spent a good amount of time going through the video as well to understand the team's failure and then its miraculous savior. He just needed to find it. … Aha! He clicked on a coded stream and a large video clip flashed in front of his eyes.

In front of him, he saw poison Ivy burst through the walls with thick vines at her sides and covering the floor. He watched at Superman, the later his own mentor fall under her vicious vines and poison plants. A few seconds afterwards, his team burst in and he watched as they all one by one fell as well. Then halfway through the slaughtering Poison Ivy was attempting on his team mates, Robin saw Artemis shoot her with an explosive arrow that threw fire across the room. The video feed blacked out, and true to Robins suspicions, another video popped up with a different angle and had seemed unperturbed at the sudden explosion. It was another of Batman's paranoid driven secret cameras, which was being much appreciated by Robin at this very moment in his predicament. He fast forwarded threw his teams failure and stopped as the first intruder came in. A tall girl with long strawberry blonde colored hair with a black and yellow cheerleading uniform on stepped in with a cell phone in hand. She stood gaping for a moment then spoke into the cellphone before Poison Ivy exploded the cell phone in her hand.

Was this the girl that had saved them all? Was she the one who had healed his team mates? His answer came when the tall blonde haired girl was thrown to the ground by a thorn that was implanted in her shoulder and was bleeding freely. She clutched her wound and Robin highly doubted she was getting up anytime soon. She sank to the ground and Poison Ivy laughed at her weakness. Then, unexpectedly from the other side of the room, _another _cheerleader came in. She stood shocked for a moment and the next few minuets of the video made Robin lift his eyebrows in surprise. Not only was this new girl able to handle herself against Poison Ivy, she took her down _and_ was immune to her poisonous gases. The mixture of those talents made her … interesting.

He watched as she saved the civilian, who he suspected was related to her, and sent her and her apparent friend out of the room fully healed. She then proceeded to save his friends by climbing the walls of the vine infected structure and pull down both Artemis and Aqualad one after the other. He saw himself move and groan on the other side of the room and she flipped his knife close expertly and shoved it behind her shoulder blades. Great. He was sure he wasn't going to get _that _back anytime soon. Then without looking back at his unconscious team, she left in a sprint and didn't return.

Rewinding the tape, Robin stopped it when the girls face was fully in the camera. He zoomed in and froze the image with expert fingers. Robin stared at the frozen image and racked his brain. He had seen her before, he was sure. But where? He widened the view slightly and looked at the cheerleading uniform she was wearing. The black and yellow colored skirt and matching shirt was familiar to him. But where was it from… …. ….

Meg'ann!

The colors of the uniform were the same colors she wore when she wore her cheer uniform. (Much to Kid Flashes pleasure.) He immediately opened another screen and typed in 'Happy Harbor High School'. Instantly, their last Friday night's football game scores flashed on the middle of the website. '7-56' it said proudly on the site, and next to the score was a picture of the football team with their school cheerleaders next to it. He zoomed in on the picture of the cheer group huddle and nodded to himself. This was her. His eyes went to the redhead beside her who had her arms wrapped around the brunettes shoulders and widened his eyes.

He shouldn't have been surprised, but it still shocked him anyways that Meg'ann was friends, if not close friends with the healer and intruder at Wayne Enterprise.

From behind him, he heard the door open and several footsteps enter the room. He could only guess who they all belonged to.

"Robin?" Meg'ann asked slowly. Robin turned and saw her frown at the huge frozen image in front of him. "What are you doing?" she asked.

Robin turned back to the image and said casually, "Investigating."

Robin heard her walk up beside him. "Investigating what?" she asked.

Robin heard another pair of footsteps, but this time there were more. Well, it really was only a matter of time before they all found out, he guessed.

Robin turned to his team mates who had walked into the room. Their eyes first went to Robin, then to the frozen image above him and beside Meg'ann. "Robin?" Aqualad asked. "What are you doing?"

"Investigating," he said calmly again.

Connor stepped closer to the image and frowned at the frozen cheerleader's picture next to his current girlfriend. "Investigating cheerleaders?" he asked skeptical.

Robin motioned them forward silently with his hands and turned back to the screen without looking to see if they stepped forward. He heard them come closer to him and Robin asked without missing a beat, "Do you remember the break in at Wayne Enterprise?"

He turned to Aqualad who was closest to him and he nodded at Robin shortly. "Yes, just two days ago," he answered.

"You and Artemis had wounds that were unaccounted for after we regrouped. They didn't just magically disappear," he stated. He glanced at Zatanna quickly, "No offense." Zatanna shrugged her shoulders and looked back up at the huge screen with curiosity in her eyes. "So this is who saved us when we were all unable to save ourselves." Before his friends could ask what he meant, Robin replayed the whole video before them with arms crossed his chest.

The video ended and the Young Justice team stared in silence at the screen. "Jezebelle?" Meg'ann asked with worried eyebrows.

"You know her?" Artemis asked turning to Miss Martian.

Miss Martian glanced at Conner, then at the rest of her team. She nodded and sighed deeply before glancing at the picture of her cheer vice-captain.

Another week passed, and life moved on. The cage fight had been exceptionally dirty the last time I had fought and I had even had managed to get a cracked rib from an annoyingly disappearing shadow that snuck up on me on the last possible moments all throughout the fight.

The cheerleading practice the next day had been anything but pleasant.

Even more unusual than the normality in my life again, was the lack of a certain hero at the caged fights. I hadn't seen nor talked to Black Canary since my threat the last time I had seen her and I guess she took it to heart. I searched the shadows and the ceilings for the Bird, but she was nowhere to be seen, along with her green leathered boyfriend.

Cheer leading had also been strange the last few days. Being that I had never before used my powers on Abrianna before, or even shown them to her, made a huge effect on her. She had told me than she had had suspicions about me and my healing abilities for a while, but didn't want to pressure me into showing her. Now that I had though, seemed to have changed her view of her opinion of me. Whenever I talked to the team or to her, she would act as if a teacher or the president was speaking; like I was some dictator who needed to be shown respect. I absolutely hated it.

Finally bout two days after the whole thing started, I had to pull her aside and tell her that she was being ridiculous and gave her a heart to heart about feeling weird that she was treating me different. That seemed to have stopped after our chat, but something else was bothering me.

It was Megan. On Monday afternoon in cheer practice, she wouldn't meet my eyes or even talk to me straightly. She would walk away and avoid me completely like the plague. When I tried to come up to her and talk about it after practice, Connor was always there to hurry her away from me. What was going on?

Days passed and by Friday, I had had enough. Straight after practice, I walked to her and side stepped Connor successfully. I stopped in front of her and put my hands on my hips. "Megan," I said clearly. Megan looked up and widened her eyes at me. Connor grabbed her arm and I grabbed the same arm hard. "Move Kent, this is cheer business." Then jerking her arm away I dragged Megan several feet away from Conner and put my hands on my hips.

"Jezebelle I-" she started to say.

"Did I offend you?" I asked completely serious.

"W-What?" she asked apparently shocked.

"Did. I. Offend. You?" I ask slowly for her and blank faced.

"N-No, I-" she started again.

"Then what's the issue Megan? You've been avoiding me like some disease for the last week!" I exclaim. "You haven't once looked me in the eye or even talked to me without me forcing myself to ask you for more than one word answers!" I place my hands off my hips and ask gentler, "Did I say something that hurt your feelings Megan? Did I do something after the bus ride that upset you? Because, I didn't mean it Megan, I really didn't. I was just having a really bad day that day," I say looking her in the eyes.

She looked at the ground and then back up at me in the eyes for the first time. "No Jez, I'm fine. It's just things at … home… aren't going so well." She blinked to the left and my mind went blank. She just lied to me.

Megan just _lied_. To _me_. ME.

I open my mouth slightly in disbelief and shut it quickly. I wasn't about to force her to tell what was wrong. Whatever it was, I was sure a girl like Megan could figure it out by herself. "Okay then. Well, if you need someone to talk to, or just somewhere to crash, you can come by my place okay?" I say smiling a little to her.

Megan looks at me funny for a moment like she wasn't expecting me to be nice to her, and then nods with a smile. Connor walks up from behind Megan right on que and grabs her hand. "Can she go now?" he asked almost sarcastically.

I nod and smile at Meagan. Then remembering something about Connor, I speak out before the pair can walk away together. "You didn't tell me your dad was a reporter Connor."

Connor froze and turned around stiffly. "What?" he asked with a guarded expression.

"Your dad, Clark Kent, I met him at Wayne Enterprise before the break in. I asked if he was related to you and he admitted being your dad, but you never told me he worked for the Daily Planet," I say raising an eyebrow. "It was pretty weird seeing him actually. He was interviewing Bruce Wayne."

Megan glanced at Connor and he stared at me blankly. He was silent for some time, the said, "We don't get along to well."

I nodded. "Yea, I could see that from when I asked him about you. You both look really uncomfortable about it," I remarked.

Connor narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw. "You should just stay out of it," he said tensely.

I put up my hands in surrender and nod. "Yea, I know not my place. But you know, my offer stands with you too Conner. You need someone to just chill with or talk to, I got your back. My dad was a real pain too so trust me you're not the only one." I turn away from the couple and Connor looked surprised at my last comment. "What Kent? Surprised I can be nice? Well I can thanks, but only because I trust you as friends," I said smiling a little. I glanced at Megan and nodded. "See you at practice on Monday."

After that particular incident of Friday, I hadn't been looking forwards to the upcoming practice on Monday. But life went on and the days afterwards flew by. Life ran its usual course and my suspicions about Black Canary and the Wayne break in left my mind. No one knew my secret, and no one was coming after me. I was okay, and so was Miranda.

Then Monday came.

Miranda had bugged me enough about taking the city bus home, like she would usually do if Mason wasn't able to pick us up, and eventually I agreed to let her take the bus home and walk home for one block by herself. I would meet her at the street corner after she had successfully gained her blocks worth of independence and then we would talk about her ever doing it again. That was the plan. That was always the plan.

Monday after school came around at Happy Harbor High School, and I nervously walked out of my seventh period class with Abrianna right beside me.

"Relax," she says to me rolling her eyes in exasperation. "You've successfully hammered the paranoia of not talking to strangers into her head Jez. She won't do anything stupid okay? So just chill," she orders.

I swallow and shift my backpack strap that was leaning heavily on my tensed shoulder. "What if she-"

"She's going to do fine. Give her some credit geez Jez. She isn't some ordinary first grader. She's _smart_. Too smart sometimes, honestly," she says to me placing a reassuring arm over my shoulders. "Besides, she's going to be walking with her friend, so she won't be completely alone. Trust her Jez, she'll do fine."

I nod tensely, knowing that the words made sense in my head, but the voice in my heart screamed '_oh hells to the freaking NO!_' I shook my head to clear my clouded thoughts, and rolled my shoulders. Abby was right. It was only one block. What could honestly go with one block? And she was going with another friend, so no one would try and snatch her off the street. She was going to be fine. She was going to be fine. Just fine. I nod to myself again and elbow Abby in her exposed sides lightly. "Thanks Abby," I say grinning to her.

She looks at me slightly amused and grins back with a devilish smile. "I know just the thing to make you feel better." Her eyes flashed dangerously, and I stopped dead in my tracks. I could handle six foot guys that could throw me to Jupiter and back, but going against Abby was biting off more than I could chew.

"What?" I ask narrowing my eyes in suspicion. Her idea of 'fun' wasn't something that I usually got myself pulled into.

She grins wider and grabs my arm in a viper grip. "Come on," she says fighting off a laugh. "Let's go do something fun."

Before I could object, she pulls me forwards at a dead out sprint to the school doors down the hall. She drags me through the double front doors and to the school parking lot where everyone was hanging out after the bell. I pass Megan standing next to Connor in the parking lot and I grab her arm. She looks alarmed for a moment, but then looks at Abby's crazy grin and laughs outwards at my panicked face. Connor watches Abby drag me, who in turn drags Megan away from the school, and he follows looking thoroughly confused.

Megan waves to the other girls on our team and they came running to join the weird festivity that Abby has somehow concocted. People watch as we run from the crowd and to the football field giggling and screaming like weirdoes. We all collapse on the grass outside the soccer field and the boys that had gathered to watch stood a while a ways away from us looking very confused.

I smiled at the blue sky above my head and I felt Abby smile beside me in satisfaction. "So since your sister has that weird dance play practice thing going on today, you want to go and get a team sundae?" she asks not really asking.

I tip my head over to her and smile wider. "Yea, let's do it." The girls around me cheered at my response and even Amy, the team captain who laid down two bodies away from me had a happy smile on her face.

"Girls afternoon?" she asks to the team.

I raise my hand in agreement and the rest of the team follows close after. We grin at each other and Megan meets my eyes. "We cool?" I ask nudging her gently with my elbow.

Megan smiles her famous little smile and nods with a genuine happiness. "Yes," she says.

I pull myself up and yell at the boys before we decided to leave, "No boys, so get lost Duncan and Kent!" The team laughs and we start to walk off the school ground talking and laughing like normal and care free teenagers. For the first time in a long time, I wasn't thinking about anything, just acting like any other teen who got invited to ice cream with friends.

I was arm in arm with Megan and Abby, and I smiled. The weight of my responsibilities slid off my shoulders as I took each step with my friends. The world and all my worries and tension left my body. Miranda was safe at school, I was with people I trusted, and no one was after me and my secrets. I had been spun to tightly for the last year. I needed just one day to unwind, and why not now? Why not just leave my worries for a couple hours?

I breathed deeply and grinned at Abby. Just for a couple hours while Miranda was safe with other people, I was going to be normal.

Abby grinned back at me and she squeezed tighter on my arm as if she agreed with my silent testimony in my head. Just for a couple hours. … I was going to be like everyone else. Nothing bad would come out of it, right?

Right?

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><p><strong>Foreshadow much? yea, i couldn't help it :)<strong>

**Questions, Comments?**

**you know what to do :)**

**~missmusicluver**


	12. Chapter 12

**First off, let me thank everyone who reviewed!**

**I loved the feedback i got from the last chapter and I really hope you guys like where my story is going to head. :D**

**Sorry for not adding YJ into this Chap, but I will very soon, they will be a big part, PROMISE!**

* * *

><p>"Get that French fry out of my face or so help me!" I scream at Abrianna next to me. Abrianna pulls the French fry away from my face by an inch, then lobs it straight at my nose which bounces off a moment later harmlessly. "You little!" I say shaking my head from the impact of the fry.<p>

Abby and I were walking down the sidewalks of my neighborhood, taking our time to get to my house. We had just left the rest of the team at McDonalds were we had all been hanging out after we had gotten our ice cream. We walked side by side and we annoyed the other pedestrians we passed with our loud laughs and occasional scream. We walked down another street, and more people were out and bout than the last street.

"At least I didn't set it on fire," Abby comments after my French fry tantrum and wiggles her eyes in knowing.

I scoop another fry out the McDonalds bag she is holding and grin quietly at the people around us. "Yea, wouldn't want to set a restaurant on fire or anything," I say casually.

Abby elbows me lightly. "That was a total accident and you know it!"

"You still set the lobsters on fire, _underwater_," I say lifting an eyebrow in return. "I understand you were mad, but damn, leave the lobsters out of it!"

Abby rolls her eyes. "It wasn't my fault. Tommy had been-"

"Ah, see I don't care what your ex- boyfriend said," I say lightly interrupting her. "You saw his text, got red in the face, and then the poor lobsters next to us in the water tank spontaneously caught on fire."

Abby turned and glared in my direction while still walking. "Well, you'll be happy to know that I apologized sincerely and paid the hospital fees to the poor lobsters," she says straight faced.

"Yea, but there still scarred for the rest of their lives. They're going to always be paranoid about the water catching fire, which really isn't possible."

"No, they're lunch for the next family that walked through the door," she says immediately afterwards. A moments passes with silence and then we both busted out laughing.

"Poor lobsters," I say laughing despite myself.

"They never saw it coming," Abby agrees smiling at the memory.

"Forget the lobsters, _I_ didn't see it coming!" I exclaim wide eyed. "You just ignited a part of the restaurant on _fire!_ When I found out you were a pyrokenesis, I was pretty shocked."

We cross the street on the cross walk. "Really, cause you didn't show it. You just stood outside the restaurant and was like 'Did you do that?' and then 'okay'. Honestly you were the weirdest person I had ever met because you didn't freak out."

"Aren't I still the weirdest person you know?" I ask mocking hurt.

"Nah, Conner Kent's passed you by a landslide," she answers truthfully.

"Ah," I nod in agreement. "He's defiantly …"

"Socially awkward," Abby states plainly.

"I was gonna say unique. Unique," I say hurriedly.

"Sure," she says pausing. "Unique."

We walked onto the next city street crowded with people and my eyes immediately scan for the bus station down the block that Miranda was going to get off of any minute; if not already off. Abby does the same next to me and I force a smile. She was just fine. Breathe. Man, maybe I really _am_ paranoid.

The crowd passes us on the sidewalk and I make my way to the end of the block before the bus stop. She would walk the rest of the block just like I had promised, but that didn't mean I was gonna let her have one more step than she needed without me.

I continue walking beside Abby, and from the crowd in front of us, we hear a loud curse and people yelling. The crowd broke down the middle, and I saw two black clad men in the daylight running straight for us with a women's purse on one of the thugs hands and the other thug throwing people to the ground at whoever got in their way.

My eyes widened and I grabbed Abby's arm and pushed her to the side of the street as they ran by us. One of the thugs yelled to the other from his black mask. "Where's Joe?"

The other thug yelled back as they passed Abby and I. "Got caught up with the girls. Took the wallet but don't know where he is now; don't care. Let's get out of here before the cops show!" They turned the corner and I heard their echoing footsteps and yelling people in distress as they made their escape.

I swallowed hard and stare up at the already closing opening from the city street full of people. Releasing Abby's arm, I began to jog ahead, panicking, but closely registering the watching people around me. I swerve around people and their loud conversations towards my sister.

I hear Abby call my name from behind me, but I ignore it as my worried nerves turns to panic. Call it intuition, but I knew something was wrong and I wasn't going to stand around if it threatened the one person who spun my world round.

* * *

><p>"I don't see the logical part in this Bruce. We already interviewed her about the company break in. What's your excuse going to be this time?" Clark Kent asked as they walked down the busy street. "And why are we walking?"<p>

"The exercise. Hurry Kent, I don't like being late," answered a calm Bruce Wayne.

"You didn't answer my question, why are we-" he said.

"You're a reporter, you should be used to people not answering your questions," Bruce answered again.

Clark grimaced and walked side by side with Bruce as they crossed another street. He was silent, and left Bruce to his own thoughts knowing it was only a matter of time Bruce let him know what they were doing there, not a matter of questions. Suddenly from ahead of them, they heard a scramble of screams, yells and shouted orders. Clark glanced at Bruce quietly and ran at human speed to the commotion.

They were a good ways down the street from the ramble, and before they could get close enough to see what was going on, one piercing gunshot blew through the air; the sound echoing off the walls of the buildings. At the same time, in a higher voice and almost as loud, came an agonized scream that seemed to grow as it reached Clarks ears. People immediately ducked in instinct and Clark and Bruce ran forwards anyways, a new hurriedness in their steps to the victim and potential killer.

People got to their feet as soon as they had dropped to their knees and crowded around the scene before them. Bruce and Clark moved through the people and swerved through the onlookers with clenched jaws. They couldn't just strip and pop out as Batman and Superman here, and they didn't have their costumes with them anyways. They were going to have to do this the old fashioned way. Bruce immediately called the police with his cell phone and Clark heard him ask for an ambulance.

They pushed their ways to the front of the crowd and stopped dead. Not one body, but two were lying on the floor in front of the circle of pedestrians. One had a black mask that covered his entire head, and wore black jeans with a black shirt and black leather combat boots. The body had the physic of a young man, maybe twenty and was lying on his back, a bloody gunshot wound on his left shoulder; staining the concrete he laid on.

Clark looked to the other body and his jaw went slack with shock. A little body with a mass of long blonde hair and wide open blue eyes. She wore denim jeans and a dark blue shirt that lay crumpled near her heart. On the left side of her chest, was a dark, nearly black, hole in her chest where you could easily guess what must have happened to her. Her chest moved upwards and downwards slightly, and Clark knew she was breathing, but just barely.

Clark glanced to her face and his eyes softened. It was Miranda Keating.

From behind the opposite side of the crowd, he saw long skinny arms push past the crowd. A flash of green eyes, and then he recognized a voice say almost desperately, "That's my sister, move!" The crowd immediately let the young teenager threw, and Jezebelle Keating looked down at the crumpled body of her sister.

He watched her take in the gunshot wound, and she fell to her knees in front of the child.

* * *

><p>'Bam!' a gunshot echoed through the crowd of people around me; at the same time, high bloodcurdling scream ripped through the air. People instantly ducked to the ground on instinct, but I ran through the bodies, and swerved around arched backs on the floor. I wasn't running now, I was sprinting and by the time I was halfway towards the end of the block, people were on their feet again, but now were flocking towards the noise and commotion at the end of the block. I pushed people out of the way and slipped through the running hurried bodies that wanted to take a look at the disturbance.<p>

There was a circled space of concrete that I could see from where I was and I noticed people were standing and staring at the ground before them. I got a glimpse of blonde hair and wide open blue eyes and my stomach dropped to my feet. _Oh god no_, I said to myself in my head. I pushed through the next throng of people and I shouted to them around me, "That's my sister, move!"

People glanced at my face, and they immediately back up. I pushed to the edge of the circle and looked down. Miranda was on her back, lying down with her arms twisted to the sides of her in an uncomfortable angle. Her lips were open slightly and she was panting to keep each breath in her body. She wasn't moving and the front of her left shoulder was covered in dark colored blood that was falling into the concrete beneath her. The blood fallen from her shoulder was mingling with her hair, turning the blonde locks a bright red.

I stare at her in a numb shock and my legs collapse beneath me, making me fall to my knees. She was… she was…

The blue eyes of my sister moved slightly and I saw her focus on my face. "Jezeb…" she says quietly. The crowd breaths as one around me, and even the cars on the street didn't make a sound.

"Hey," I breathe out quietly with a watery smile and lifting her into my arms. She doesn't move at my gesture, and she collapses against me nearly motionlessly as I lay her head against my right shoulder, still on my knees. I look down at her and swallow hard. Oh god. She was shot. She was _shot._ "You're going to be okay," I say nodding and trying to smile reassuringly. My lips tremble, but I hold myself together in front of her. "Okay? You're gonna be just fine," my breath becomes shaky and I choke on tears as her blue eyes look up at me almost in a dazed trance. _Close the wound, close it and get her out of here_, I think to myself. I smooth her hair away from her face and I place my hands over her heart. _Just close it and stop the bleeding, and she'll be fine. She'll be fine. _My skin touches her wound and I throw my will into her chest, trying to close the bleeding.

"There was… gun," she tells me in her whisper, making me look back at her face and eyes. Then in a bold attempt of a smile, she lifts her face to me. "I sat on the bus all by myself," she says to me with a quiet breath. God, she's bleeding on the sidewalk, and she's still happy she got to ride the bus by herself for the first time. I hear her inhale and her chest constrict. I open her lungs for her to breathe easier and push hair away from her forehead that had managed to sneak past me. Red streaks run through the strands of hair I touched, and I look down at my hands in a numb, horrified stare. There was blood, her blood in my hands. Her blood in her hair, that I had put there.

I move my hands way from her pale face and look down at her biting my bottom lip in defiance to my threatened tears. "And you did a great job sweety," I say nodding to her and myself. "A great job," I choke out a second later.

From behind me, I hear steps of running feet, and I knew Abby was behind me watching. But it didn't matter what she saw, it was too late and I knew it now.

My will flowed through her veins, and I saw her punctured heart. The side of her heart wall was torn, and the blood wasn't being sent away, just flooding her body. I was encouraging the walls of the heart to heal and the arteries to close and flow naturally, but Miranda shared my blood and healing powers. Her body was resisting my will with her own powers and the mix between wills and powers was slowing my flow of energy to a trickle, no matter how hard I pushed.

She coughed, and blood rose to her lips, making me lose concentration. I gaped and gasped at the sight, and forced my will to her heart. There was no way she was going to die here. None. Mama gave her entire life core to her so she could live, I was fighting in cages to keep her sickness at bay; there was no way she was going to die here and now. I wasn't going to let it happen. Didn't work this hard and push myself through hell and back just to sit here and watch my heaven fall from the sky. No way.

"Jez," she coughed. More blood came through her lips and I wiped the blood away with a surprisingly steady hand. I wasn't shaking, even though my heart was on the tip of knife to tearing apart. "Am I going to die?" she asks her eyes half open now; her head lulling to one side like the fight was already over.

"No," I say in a breath. "No you're not going to die Miranda. Not you too," I say looking into her eyes, anger and desperation showing through like a fire. "You fight it Miranda, you hold on to me and you fight," I grasped the back of her neck and forced her eyes to look into mine with a hard determination. She couldn't give up on me now. "You are _not_ going to leave me. Do you understand me? You use what momma gave you and you _fight back_," I say whispering only for her to hear. "For god's sake Miranda, don't leave me too."

I feel the blood in her chest start to fill into her lungs and kidneys from the back of my head. I couldn't stop this. I couldn't do it.

Miranda's chin crinkles in her pain and I knew she was crying before her first tear fell. "No, Jez, I am. I'm dying, I can feel it," she says quieter than before. My heart constricts at her words and I shook my head vigorously. "I can feel it,' she repeats looking up at me again from her own hell.

"No," I say denying the facts in front of me. She was going to pull through. She was going to be okay. She was stronger than me. She could do this.

"Jez,' she whispers.

"Miranda NO!" I yell at her holding both her arms tightly.

Miranda stares into my eyes like a porcelain doll and I feel her heart stop beneath my fingers. Her head rolls back away from me in a slow fall and my sister, Miranda Keating, dies.

I watch her head roll away from me and my mind and eyes go blank. "Miranda?" I ask. She doesn't move at her name. "Miranda," I say this time in a statement. I had to wake her up.

"Miranda, look at me," I say, my voice in a deadpanned silence.

Still she doesn't look at me and I feel my chest shake. .No. "MIRANDA!" I scream at her. I pull her to me and I shake her arms back and forth. She had to wake up. She had to move for me. She had to move. "MIRANDA!" I scream at her again. She had to just get up, that's it. Just move her head or eyes or hands and I would be okay. Just _move_ for me, please. My voice releases my pain and confusion, and people around me back away unconsciously.

Instead her head just flops forwards and backwards as I shake her arms. She doesn't get up, she doesn't move and she doesn't breathe. She was gone.

I stare blankly at the limp body in my hands, and I had the uncomfortable instinct to just drop the body and scream to the air. I had the urge, but instead I just stare. I stare at the warm body in my hands, and the red and yellow hair surrounding a pair of open blue eyes. There was no life in the eyes, but a blank slate of nothingness. Just blue, staring eyes.

"Miranda," I say in the silence around me.

I felt my insides burn, and my eyes fill with tears. She was _gone._ Never coming back, just gone. I had seen it before, and I knew what death was.

I stare at her face and then look away up at the blue sky above me. God, she was gone. She was gone. I stare back down at her face and shake my head at her still expression. "I'm sorry," I whisper to her. "I am so sorry." She doesn't say anything back to me, but stares unmoving up at the sky.

My eyes were filled with tears, but not a single drop fell from my eyes until I lifted my hand and closed Miranda's wide eyes. I kept my hand on her still warm face and swallowed again. I glanced at the sky and then back at her face; returning back and forth, trying to understand, and trying to cope with the facts in my hands. My mind was locked in my head, and my body was removed from my senses. I didn't know if someone was still watching me, I couldn't know if someone had touched me. I was so far away from myself, I was lost within my mind, anger and sadness tossing me around in waves so big, I could feel myself drowning.

Then something happened. A noise washed threw the cold currents of my loss and madness that shattered my hold on my mind.

From the side of me, I hear someone moan as if in pain. I turn my head slowly to the voice and my eyes narrow. It was a man on the ground, lying with his arms outward as if he had been pushed backwards. He moans again and I stand up, carefully depositing my dead sister to the ground. He had done this to me. He had killed and taken away the most important thing in my life. She was _six years old_.

Anger boiled in my veins and in my very soul. He was going to pay for my loss. He was going to pay for the hole now in my heart. I wanted vengeance, and I wanted it badly.

I took a step towards him and no one moved in the crowd to stop me. Maybe they were all in shock, or maybe they wanted me to exact revenge on the man in front of me like I wanted to do in this moment. The killers eyes open behind the black cotton mask and I saw brown eyes stare up at the sky. The brown eyes of a man who had just killed a child. The brown eyes of a man who could have no empathy for what he had taken from me or what he had done. The brown eyes of a murderer.

I took another step forwards in my slow walk towards him and his eyes met mine. Maybe it was the light, or the blood I could see in the corner of my eye on his shoulder, but I stare back into the man's eyes and I see … pain.

Pain because he had killed someone? Pain because he had been shot by his own weapon? Pain of regret? My next foot fall slows and I stare into his eyes. It could very well be that he was only hurt because of the wound he had and not the emotional toll it took to take another life of a fellow human being.

Whatever the case may have been for his own pain, my own suffering was put on a silent hold. He was someone else's child and that thought flashed through my mind like I had just had an epiphany.

He was someone else's love or brother or son or father. Anger ran through my veins like fire near a bursting volcano, but my heart and mind was cooling me off as I stared at him. He was someone's and me hurting him would only make me as fowl as the murder he had initiated.

My hands turned into fists and I dropped to my knees in front of him. I lean over him and move his arms straight so the blood wouldn't pool. My fingers burn at touching the man that had killed my baby, but I push the thought away. He wasn't mine, and I had no right to think that his actions deserved death by my hands. I wasn't a jury or god, I was me and that held my will back inside of me from releasing energy straight into his heart and deep frying him like chicken wings. Instead I clench my jaw together as hard as I could and tensely moved the man into a better position.

I set his legs straight and tipped his head slightly backwards to let oxygen in more efficiently. Someone gasps behind as they caught on to what I was doing. "Jez, you can't be serious! He just killed your _sister_," Abby says in the silence around us.

I clench my teeth together firmly and spit out venomously, "I'm well aware of what he did Abrianna." I turned the man's shoulder around and he winces with pain as I jerk it to the left. I place my left hand on his forearm while using my other to fiddle aimlessly with his arms and legs. I let my will fall into him through my hand on his wound and I close his bleeding artery and broken cartilage. I didn't want the crowd around me to know that I was using my power on him, so I move around as I work, trying to make it seem I was helping him.

"Then just leave him!" Abby exclaims, unable to see my logic for my empathy. "Why would you want to save someone who just killed your only family?" she says quietly. The people around me burn their eyes into my back, making my face feel like stone and my back tense up.

They hung onto the silence, waiting for my answer, but in all truth my answer was only the thoughts that were running through my mind at that exact moment. I had no control over my state of mind after the fall of my sister's head, and my words came out as clear and logically as the process of deduction that was swimming through my head and clouding my senses. "I'd rather see him alive and in jail than dead without justice."

"Then let him pull through without your help! If he has enough strength to pull the trigger on a six year old, then he has enough strength to live with the bullet he shot out of his own weapon," Abby counters to me from behind my back.

I pull my hand away from the masked man's shoulder, leaving the wound clean, but open enough to show the doctors that the bullet was still in the shoulder. I didn't close the skin, but stopped the dangerous amount of blood from flowing out of his body. "That's true, but by the time the ambulance gets here, he could be dead or close to it." I stare into the man's eyes again and he stares back with an empty glance. "And I can't lose the opportunity to see this man go to jail for a _very_ long time."

Then without warning to the man, I pull off his black snowboarding mask and reveal his face. He had sharp cheek bones and thick eyebrows with brown short cropped hair. He had a small mouth, and small ears that pointed slightly at the top like an elf. He was young, maybe twenty years old. So young, and he had already caused a death; it made me even more angry.

My eyes flicker away from the man in front of me, and I look to the ground to his left. A small red and yellow wallet was laying on the ground with a large Robin symbol on the front. I recognized it all too well, for I had bought it.

I pick it up gently in my hands like it was an artifact of a lost civilization. I open the Velcro top and cautiously open the thin fabric to the contents inside.

There wasn't much in it.

Biting my bottom lower lip and swallowing painfully again, I pull out the contents of my sister's wallet. A life taken for just this…

I face the man again from my few feet away from him and stare at him in the eyes. I hold up the contents in my hand and say in a monotone, "Congratulations." There was a death silence around me, but I push forwards; unaware of my surroundings at the moment. "You just killed a first grader for two dollars and a used bus ticket." The man's eyes stare back, unmoving and I continue on. "I hope you feel proud for taking her life for this." I motion to the two dollars and bus ticket in my hand, and without warning, I throw the contents at his face. The money hits him on the forehead and it fell into his lap without a sound with the ticket landing shortly afterwards.

That was all that was left of her. Two dollars and a bus ticket, nothing more except for a body and a fading memory. That was it.

The man didn't flinch as the money and bus ticket hit him, instead he only stares at me with hard blank eyes. He didn't say anything, and I knew he didn't need to. He wasn't my child or family member and I didn't give a rats ass if he felt bad or not. He had taken my sunshine, my only sunshine, and my world was starting to turn gray.

From behind me, I hear police and ambulance sirens coming down the street. I look way from the man and turn to the pavement. "Get up and confess what you did. I don't have time to deal with you." Then I stand up to my feet and stare down at him. I didn't move, just stared down at him with clenched fists. I wanted to hit him, to hurt him like he was hurting me. To make him feel the agony running through every atom of my body at losing her, my baby.

Instead, I continue to stare down at him and I feel my muscles tensed like a coiled snake. Just one more thing, and I knew I would snap, no matter how much self-control I had.

The man below me struggles to his feet and I stand by, watching him with deadpanned eyes. I wanted to push him back down to the ground. Make him fall and never get up again.

He stands without assistance, and I hear the ambulance pull to the side of me. The siren blares in my ears, but I stare unblinking at the man. He glances to the ambulance and then back at me with emotionless eyes.

Then, cracking my controlled mask, he smirked at me.

He glanced back at the ambulance and waited as the men got out of the big van quickly and ran to him to support him as if he were the victim. Their eyes met the body behind me and I saw the young doctor that was holding the murder's arm look sad and give me a pitying glance.

I would like to say I handled the situation like a professional and disconnected myself with the past seconds, but in truth, I snapped. The murderer was _smiling_ at me. The doctor had the nerve to feel bad and _pity_ me? Had the world gone insane?

My eyes turned to dangerous slits at the murderer and the doctors. My fists clenched and I locked my jaw together. Oh hell no, he was _not_ going to smile at me. Oh _hell no_.

I didn't think, I didn't even breathe. I just took a step forward and threw my clenched fist into the murderer's nose as hard as I possibly could. A loud 'CRACK' broke through the air and the young man in the doctors arms yells in pain as blood gushes out of his nose. He drops to his knees and yells at the doctors for them to arrest me. Yea right.

The doctors look at me completely stunned for a moment, and I stare at both of the similarly dressed men with cold eyes. "He must have broken his nose when he hit the ground after he shot my six year old sister," I say in a monotone.

They continued to stare and I turn to the crowd. "Did anyone else see different?"

Abby was behind me in a second. "No, he broke his nose when he face planted into the cement after he murdered a first grader."

The ambulance men narrow their eyes at our words and they stare at the man on his knees before them in sudden disgust. My words must have hinted at my excuse to them. "Found him this way didn't we Ed?" the shorter of the two ambulance men asks to his partner.

"Yea. Shmuck must have broken his nose sometime during his fight," the other EMT says in reply.

I don't smile, or nod at them. Instead I turn my back and walk to my sister. My poor baby. I sit down on the cement and pull her still warm body into my arms. She didn't deserve this. She was just my little girl, god she didn't deserve this. I'm sorry. I am so sorry sweetie.

My eyes stayed on my sister as people around me moved. I wasn't paying attention to the people around me and I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt a hand rest on my shoulder. I look up slowly, and I feel the first tear fall from my confused face. She couldn't really be gone, could she?

My eyes met a pair of blazing blue eyes, so much like my sisters and I feel another tear fall from my face. "Jezebelle, they need to take Miranda," the man with the blue eyes says to me.

My hands immediately clench tighter to Miranda's body and I lean away from the hand on me. "No," I whisper to him.

The man, I'd seen him somewhere before; looks down at me with a softer expression. "They need to take her to the morgue Jezebelle. She needs to be put to rest." Those eyes, I've seen them before, but where? My eyes travel to the rest of his face and I try to put together a name through the fog in my head. Then all at once, my mind snaps together like a puzzle. Bruce Wayne.

Bruce Wayne was talking to me, about Miranda. I blink twice in a hurry to clear my mind and swallow. I look down at Miranda and then up at Bruce Wayne again. I nod once and get to my feet; pulling Miranda into my arms with me.

Bruce Wayne let go of my shoulder and didn't touch me again as he led me to the ambulance doors. They open in a wide arch, and I hand Miranda to the two ambulance men with their outstretched arms. They lay her down on a stretcher inside, and I sit beside her in the ambulance keeping my face impassive and my mind blank. This couldn't honestly be real. It just couldn't.

Before the ambulance doors close, I call out to a retreating Bruce Wayne. "Bruce Wayne?"

He turns to me, and the two men holding the door open for me raise an eyebrow.

I didn't know what I was doing, so I just spit out whatever mumbled jumble was in my mind. "You can cancel my interview date; I won't be coming." I nod to the men holding the door open and they close it as I turn my face away from the smartly dressed Bruce Wayne. I hadn't watched his expression or face to see if he had heard me, but I didn't care at this point. All there was left was Miranda.

The doors close with a sharp 'BANG' and the echo of the gun shot runs through my head from the previous minuets. I flinch slightly, and I scoot closer to Miranda. She wasn't there, just a shell of her previous smiles and pains.

The engine starts and I stare into her face. I couldn't cry because it wasn't real to me and I couldn't scream because the pain hadn't actually set in. All I could do was stare at her and watch as the ambulance drove me to the hospital to put on paper my sisters short lived life.

Now what did I do?

* * *

><p><strong>YEP ... Miranda died.<strong>

**DON'T HATE ME!**

**It just had to be done so she could start off on her hero journey, yea it's tragic, but it just had to be done...**

**SO anyways ... you know what to do ... REVIEW!**

**~Missmusicluver**


	13. Chapter 13

**First of all! Let me just say... Thank You to everyone who reviewed to me! I actually really enjoyed going threw everyone's critiques and suggestions. **

**And IM SORRY! I know the last chap made a lot of people cry, but it was necessary! **

**Anyway's hope you like this... :D**

* * *

><p>Home; it was an empty word that now held no meaning to me.<p>

The apartment light flickered slightly as I pulled out my keys with trembling fingers in the now dark city sky. It was eight, maybe nine o'clock at night and I was just getting back from the hospital. I opened the wooden door silently and let myself in with wide and mostly unblinking eyes.

The pictures on the shelves, the dishes in the sink, the paint on the walls, the smell in the air hits me like a physical force when I step into my home, my safe haven. I close the door behind me quietly and stand in the middle of the living room in the settled, unfamiliar silence.

This was the worst part, the silence. No small voice announcing she was hungry, no humored jokes shouted from the kitchen, no pleads for a simple lullaby before darkness fell for the night. Just complete and total silence hung in the air.

I walk through the silence to the hanging pictures on the shelves, and selected one with a silver frame. Miranda sat on a white chair with a white backdrop, wearing a bright yellow and white flowered printed dress with white, plastic, jewelry adoring her clasped arms that were stretched out in front of her while she beamed a full smile at me through the glossy paper in my hand.

My eyes drank in her smile and face in silence. Without warning, my legs collapse out from beneath me, and I land on my knees before the pictures and my stereo. Without thinking, I push the power button on my stereo and crank up the sound until it wouldn't go on any higher. Manny Delvale's 'Like Yesterday' blasts through the speakers.

"Woah ohhhh," the male singer sung out to me and I felt my eyes prickle in an uncomfortable way. I stare down at my Miranda, and I clutch the silver frame with desperate fingers.

"I need you like yesterday. I need you like yesterday," he sang to me through the speakers and I breathe in deep, my shoulders shaking and my chin quivering as Miranda smiles up at me; silent as ever.

"Hey little shorty I've been thinking about you, about you. I've got this brand on my heart and it hurts more being without you, without you. This girl's all around me, I don't see no-one when it comes to you, I got tunnel vision," the man sang again; I completely broke down. It didn't matter if this boy's song was serenading about the girl he loved; to me, every word so far was about my sister and it just represented how much of my life was ripped away from me, because in all honesty, she was everything I had. Now she was gone.

Tears fell out of my eyes and I gasp painfully as sobs start to rack my body without pity. I crouch close to the floor and bring the picture to my chest in burning agony. She wasn't here. All that was left of her were the pictures. Just images and strands of memories that collected in my mind like an organized file.

"I need your love like yesterday," the man's voice sang and the beat in the background made the floor shake and bounce.

I scream out at the floor and stereo that was overpowering my sobs. The beat flows through my hands and Miranda's last heartbeat came into my mind. _Oh God, she's really gone; my baby._

I gasp again and yell at the picture in my hands. _My baby, my baby, my sunlight. Why are you gone? Why'd you leave me?_ I fell onto my side and grasped the photo to my chest, making the corners of the frame cut into my skin. Another rack of sobs broke through my throat and my shoulders shook worse than a size ten earthquake. _Oh God, send her back to me. Please just let me keep her, just her I swear._ I scream into the pulsating air of the beat and curl inwards on myself. I knew she was gone. I knew it, but god I _needed_ her to come back to me.

I didn't know how much time passed with me just lying on my side, curled up in a ball with Miranda's picture pressed to my chest. Songs passed like seconds and my sobs never stopped even when the music and the beat stopped for a moment before continuing onwards to the next song.

But eventually, I realize through the pain in my heart and the fog in my head that my side was starting to hurt from lying on the hardwood floor and the picture in my hands was turning a light red. I look down at my chest and realize with a crazed realization that the skin next to my collar bones was cut deeply by the corners of the silver frame.

My blood was running down the side of Miranda's picture on the glass in front of it.

With an almost animal instinct, I bolt upwards and throw the picture as hard as I could against the other side of the living room wall. The picture connects with the wooden walls and the glass shatters on impact; sending glass around the room.

I turn off the stereo next to me and get up to my feet. I look down at the wreckage on the floor and run away from the bloody frame and Miranda's smiling face. I jump over the glass fragments and run into my room, slamming the door behind me in almost a sickening desperation. I collapse into my bed and stare up at the ceiling.

Then, the silence hits me again. It was so quiet; it was deafening me like a bomb had just exploded next to my ear. I squirm uncomfortably on the bed and glance at the edges of the ceiling, unable to stay still. I had to do something, anything, to stop thinking about what had happened. I had to move.

I got up from my bed and prowled around my room, stalking the shadows in my room from the outside night lights on the street. I pace around my room, letting my feet carry me from one side of my room to the other. Over and over.

Anger boils under my skin, and irritation itches in my fists. I had to do something to make myself forget. Anything.

But as suddenly as my need to pace began, it stopped and I drop to my butt on the carpeted floor. I just couldn't really believe it. It was like someone was pulling a really bad joke on me, or like the feeling you get when you walk up steps and you expect another step ahead of you; only to find that empty air meets you and you trip onto your face because of it. The feeling was settled into my stomach and I grind my teeth together in anger.

What had been the point of every heart ache and word I had said to her if she was only going to be ripped away from me? What had been the point of all the cage fights and the illegal buying of her medicine if she was only going to die? Was there even a point to her death? What was the point of my mother's death if Miranda died not even seven years later? It was like a punch to the stomach for me, and my fists clenched in anger. _She had died for nothing._

A red haze flashes through my mind and eyes, and before I knew what I was doing; I pick up the electric piano next to me and throw it out my closed window. Glass shatters as the piano goes through the glass and I hear the machine crash to the floor, two stories down from me. I run out of my room and run into Miranda's.

The silence was broken by the crash of the piano, but it was still here. Chasing me into Miranda's bed and making me curl into a ball, the silence rang in my ears and I covered my head as the tears came back again, this time without a radio to cover my sobs.

I cried and cried and cried until I felt my lungs burn and my eyes close slightly from pure emotional exhaustion. Dead.

My head lolls to one side and I crush Miranda's pillow to my chest and lay my cheek against the smooth fabric; breathing deeply. My thoughts turn to mush, and my eyes close. Then creeping up on me, sleep consumed me in the midst of my pain.

I woke up the next morning and closed my eyes immediately. It was all just a nightmare. All just a horrible, horrible nightmare. All I had to do was open my eyes and I would see Miranda waiting for me to make her breakfast with hands on hips like the little six year old diva she could act out to be. She was still alive, she was alright; I just needed to seriously consider therapy, that's all.

Relived, I open my eyes and stare up at the ceiling of Miranda's bedroom. I wait for some sort of noise from the other rooms, but nothing comes. I sit up slowly, dread coming over me and I walk out of Miranda's bedroom with slow steps. "Miranda?" I call out to the silence.

No one answers me and I feel the tears return. No, it wasn't a bad dream, it was my reality; my hell. I go back to Miranda's bedroom and lay in her bed again. She would never sleep here again. She would never ask me to lay down with her here. I clutch her pillow and let my tears fall. I wasn't going to yell and scream like I did last night, but I defiantly was going to cry for my loss.

And I did, for the rest of the day.

I didn't get up, I just laid in Miranda's bed for the next two days after that; just lost in old memories and going through my past regrets. If only I had been there to protect her… If only I had been stricter about going out by herself... Whatever happened to that friend? Did she just leave? Run away? She was still live, with a mother at home to hold onto, while I had the memories and only pictures. It wasn't fair. It wasn't -

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Over the past three days, there had been several phone calls from both the house phone and my cell phone, but I never left the bed to get it. I only ever left the bed for water and to use the bathroom.

But now, someone was at my door. I lift my head from the tear soaked pillow and sniff my running nose. Oh god, go away for Batman's sake. I lay my head down on the pillow and ignore the continuing knocking. After a few seconds, the visitor seemed to understand that I didn't want any visitors and the knocking stopped. The rest of the day passed by without any other incident.

It was eight at night and I sat up on Miranda's bed, staring at her picture. In this one, she was with me and sitting in my lap. We were both sitting in front of a large window and our right hands were outstretched together intertwined like we were trying to catch the rays of sun that were coming down from the clear glass. The expression on her face made me kept looking down at the picture. She looked excited and curious like she was trying to figure something out, but most of all, she looked innocent. Pure, and unblemished innocence.

My finger absently rubs a corner of the picture, and suddenly the house phone rings making me jump. I get up angrily and pick up the phone ready to explode on whoever was on the other side of the line.

"Red Butterfly, ten o clock, usually meeting place; be there," an annoyingly familiar voice says to me.

"Go dig a hole and eat your money," I say back to Joe, my club casher.

"Yea, you're a real laugh. Anyways, listen, we gots ourselves a real deal here tonight. Apparently there's this new chick in town called Scream-" he started to inform me in his oily voice.

I interrupt him with a vicious whisper. "You ever call this number again and I will personally see to it that you never walk again, do you understand me?"

There was a silence on the other line. "Butterfly? What are you sayin girl? We had a deal. Tonight you work, you get the money. Now shut it and listen! This new girl is a real tough one. She's got-"he started to say again.

I interrupt him yet again. "No. You listen. I'm done," I say evenly.

"What?" Joe asks in surprise. "Wait what?" he asks again louder from the phone. "You can't just quit on me Butterfly! I've already told Roulette that you'll be here! I can't just take it back!"

"That's your issue. I'm done and I mean it. You ever call me again, I'll make sure to do good on my threat. I promise you," I say in a monotone.

Joe was silent on the other side, and I could literally almost hear the cogs in his greasy head turning to find a way to keep me with him in this contract. Too bad I had lost all I ever really cared about. "Butterfly, you should think this over. Just come on over and we'll discuss our contract issue then, okay?"

"Goodbye Joe," I say still a monotone.

"Wait, Butterfly! This time, the money you get from this fight could let you buy a ticket to another country with a house to go with it!"

This sparked my interest. Not the money, but the thought of going to a different country. Away from Rhode Island, could I do that?

"How much?" I ask almost in a whisper.

"A lot. Be here and we'll talk," Joe says. Then without letting me get in an answer, he hangs up on me; leaving me in silence.

I put the phone down and I turn back to Miranda's room. I stop at the doorway and I look in her old bedroom. Everything was untouched except the sheets and pillows I had moved over the past two days in her bed.

And it hits me.

What was I doing here? Miranda was dead. There was no reason for me to stay here, I was doing nothing here.

It was like that thought dictated my head and I stood looking at the room when I made a decision. I wasn't going to stay here. I was leaving.

I look back at the phone and I knew how I was going to leave. Not just the city or the state. I was going to leave the country.

I took a deep breath and turned from Miranda's room into the bathroom down the hallway. I blasted the hot water and stepped into the steam, scrubbing away the tears, the pain and the hurt from my body. I knew now that Miranda wasn't coming back to me, and so I scrubbed the denial from my skin. I was going to control this, my pain.

I washed my hair and let the water wash away every doubt in my head. I scrubbed myself again until my skin turned a slight pink color and I turned the water cold over me. Ice buckets of water landed on me and I lifted my head to the cold in resignation. This is what I needed, a clear head, and a new start.

I turn off the water and go to my bedroom wrapped in a towel. "Time to start over," I tell myself, pulling out the washed capris and long sleeve shirt. I dry myself off and pull on my cage outfit. I go to the bathroom and put in my contacts. Then I put on black socks and pull on my black shoes.

Now I knew what to do. I had a plan and I was going to do whatever it took to start anew. All I had to do was get away; why? I couldn't answer that, it was just what my heart wanted, what my soul told me to do. So I did.

Before leaving that night, I put the picture of me and Miranda out of the frame and tuck the glossy paper into my black bra, close to my heart. I got a small black duffle bag and tossed in a couple pair of jeans, shirts, bras, underwear and a stick of deodorant. Next came a tooth brush and toothpaste with a small pocketknife. Lastly, I add all the money I have stored around the house and my cell phone and its charger. Now I was ready to go.

Looking around the house one more time, I memorize everything my eyes lay on and I breathe in deep. This would be the last time I would be looking at this, and I absorbed every moment of good memories that ran to me with my last glance. Then without looking back, I close the door and begin my new future.

* * *

><p>Batman wasn't Batman when he came back from the office that Monday Robin noticed. Well, Batman <em>was<em> actually Batman, he just didn't have the piercing look in his eyes he usually did before they went on patrol. It was like his eyes were glossed over, or he was thinking extremely hard. What was wrong with him?

"Bruce?" Dick asked him while they ate dinner.

Bruce looked up from the Gotham newspaper and met his eyes. "Yes Dick?"

Dick stared into his eyes trying to figure out what was wrong with him by just the look in his eyes. Unfortunately, Dick knew he was dealing with the one and only _Batman_, so trying to figure out was wrong with him just by a look was nearly impossible. Dick looked away from Bruce's blue eyes suddenly interested in the carrots on his plate.

"Nothing," Dick said and got up from the table. "I'll just go get ready for patrol."

"That won't be necessary. No one's going out tonight," Bruce stated, looking back at the paper even though Dick knew he already knew every piece of information the paper had to offer.

"What?" Dick asked taken back. No patrol? Since when?

"Everyone needs a break every once in a while. Take tonight off, tomorrow we'll do drills and you'll be wishing for tonight," Bruce said answering Dicks confused expression.

Dick saw through the façade immediately. "What's going on Bruce? You seem…" Bruce looked over and met Dick's eyes. "…preoccupied."

Bruce didn't answer immediately. "Take tonight off," he said almost in an order.

Dick got the message and handed Alfred his plate. "I'll be going to Mt. Justice then," Dick told Bruce on his way out. No patrol, fine. He could do other things if Bruce wasn't going to tell him what's up.

Bruce watched Dick leave with stiff shoulders. "You should tell him what is on your mind Sir. Dick is old enough to know when you are lying to cover your troubles," Alfred said to Bruce across the counter with Dick's dishes in hand when Dick was out of ear shot.

Bruce met his friend's eyes and then back down at the paper. He knew something was wrong with himself because he couldn't seem to concentrate all day after what he had seen earlier today. The gunshot, the masked thug, the blood from the young girl; it all brought back images in his head he would rather keep buried. It had been on his mind all the rest of the day and apparently Dick had noticed.

Bruce got up from the table and headed to the Batcave. He had told Dick to take the night off, but that didn't mean that Gotham didn't need protecting. He was going to make sure that no one else was going to die tonight. It was supposed to be his job to do so.

* * *

><p>Dick Grayson stepped into Mt. Justice dressed as Robin, full gear. Zatanna was the first person he saw. "Hey Robin, what are you doing here?" she asked mildly curious.<p>

"Being ignored," Robin said mumbling a little.

"What?" Zatanna asked not hearing what he had said.

"Nothing just bored. Doing anything interesting?" he asked walking up to her in front of the large screen and computer before her.

"Just looking over today's news for the small town of Rhode Island," she said scrolling through the large screen.

"Anything worth knowing?" Robin asked not really paying attention, but looking over the large room.

"Actually yea," Zatanna said scrunching her eyebrows. Robin looked at her and smiled at the cute expression she wore when she was thinking. He looked up at the screen she was staring at and widen his eyes. "Apparently this little girl was murdered today." An image popped up of a smiling girl and Robin recognized the last name. Keating.

"What's the story?" Robin asks now suddenly very interested.

"Apparently it was a street mugging gone bad. An eye witness said that the attacker was taking the wallet of the girl-" Zatanna started.

"Who steals from a first grader?" Robin asked sickened.

"Someone who has nothing to lose," Zatanna answered looking over at Robin from the corner of her eyes.

Robin noticed, but nodded to the screen. "Go on," he said.

"Well, he attacked her and she fought back. The gun somehow was pressed to her chest and he accidently pulled the trigger, the bullet going through the girl and going into the attackers shoulder," Zatanna explained while reading the news article.

"And?" Robin pressed.

"The girl died," Zatanna said sadly. Immediately afterwards she scrunched her eyebrows together again. "But apparently a Bruce Wayne was there to help the girls older sister into the ambulance," Zatanna announced. "I wonder what a business man was doing here in Rhode Island so far away from Gotham."

Robin had gone stiff at the mention of his adoptive father. "Yea, I'd like to know too."

From behind them, the doors in the back opened letting Superboy and Miss Martian into the room. Miss Martian's eyes immediately saw the large newspaper clipping and she dropped Superboy's clasped hand. "What?" she said her eyes wide at the picture of the little dead girl on the screen. "What happened to Miranda?" she asked leaving Conner and floating over to Robin and Zatanna.

Zatanna turned to Miss Martian. "You know this girl too?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"It's the same girl from the Wayne Enterprise break in when Poison Ivy kidnapped that first grader," Robin stated to Zatanna pulling up another screen with the break in video and pausing on the blown up image of the young girl.

"So you're saying this girl is the younger sister of the cheerleader that saved you all at the break in?" Zatanna asked, realization spreading over her face.

Miss Martian looked back and forth between the two of her friends. "What has happened to Miranda?" she asked again, this time looking slightly panicked.

Robin turned to Zatanna. "You tell her," he said.

Zatanna threw him a dirty look and stared into Miss Martians eyes. "Miranda was shot today from a mugger. She died before the paramedics could get to her," She told her slowly, like she was trying to spare the Martian's feelings.

"She- She's dead?" Miss Martian asked her eyes going wide and her mouth slightly open in total disbelief.

Robin nodded and Miss Martian broke out in tears. "I j-just saw her! How could she be-" then suddenly the Martian looked terrified. "Oh Jezebelle! … Jezebelle must be so sad, that was her only family member still left alive!" Miss Martian broke out in tears again and Superboy wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Miss Martian buried her face in Conner's shirt and Robin turned to Zatanna.

"What was the connection to Bruce Wayne and Jezebelle?" Robin asked.

Zatanna typed into the computer and she came up with a list of names. "Apparently she was the top choice for the Juniors Wayne Enterprise Internship for this year," Zatanna announced to him. She was silent for a moment and her eyebrows rose. "Wow, she had a resume out of this world."

Robin nodded. He had heard Bruce's advisors talk about her when Dick visited him at his work the week before. "And he was visiting her for that reason?"

Zatanna scrolled again. "Apparently, why?" she looked over at Robin with raised eyebrows. "You know something we all don't?"

Dick thought back to the break in. The same girl who took down Poison Ivy, the internship, and now Bruce was checking up on her. What made her so special? Dick looked at Zatanna with a carefully concealed expression. "No. I was getting the details."

"Oh, I should go and see if she's alright!" Miss Martian said sniffling into Conner's shirt.

Robin looked at the back of Megan's back. "I wouldn't Meg. After losing someone that close to you, you usually don't want any company."

Megan didn't pay any attention to Robin's words and cried out loud, "I'm going to go call her!"

Robin reached out to stop her, but Conner caught his arm. Robin stared at him and Conner just shook his head. She needed to do this; it was her way of coping. Dick nodded in understanding and turned back to the screen. Robin heard Conner's retreating footsteps and he turned his eyes to Zatanna next to him.

She looked at the door and then back at him. "I'll go and calm Megan down," she said nodding once to Robin. Robin nodded back and focused on the computer. He heard the door close behind Zatanna and he typed into the holographic computer.

He did a full background check on Jezebelle Keating and he read through the information with an impassive expression. It wasn't worth trying to sympathize with her; she was just a person Bruce was looking into. But why? He went deeper into her past and tried to figure out what was going on. Finding nothing he didn't already suspect, he dug into her medical files. They were encrypted of course, but he got past them easily enough.

He went through every bit of information and he wasn't given much. When Jezebelle did visit the hospital it was never for her, it was for her sister. Not much help. He tried looking through some other files and papers, but he was no closer to answers than he was when he started.

He stared at the holograph with annoyance. Nothing. Nothing about her screamed 'important'. So what was going on!

Changing tactics, Robin started a background check on the sister, the dead girl, Miranda Keating. Maybe something would link the two girls to what was nagging in the back of his mind. He was missing something, he knew that, but he couldn't figure out what that was.

He read through the sister's medical file and he raised a hidden eyebrow. What was this? He clicked farther in, and he let out a small sigh. The sister was going to die no matter what. He had never heard of her sickness, but he saw enough of the scans and records to know that she wouldn't have lived past the age of 21.

He skimmed through the history if the medical visits and something caught his attention. He searched through the dates and numbers of each visit to the hospital and then looked at the medical notes. The sickness… He cocked his head to one side thoroughly confused.

She wasn't getting any sicker through the past eleven months. He compared all the information and crossed his arms in thought. The medical visits, the results, the emancipation, the money… Suddenly Robins mind clicked into place. The money!

Her records showed that Jezebelle had a part time job at a café somewhere in Rhode Island, but the payroll was nowhere enough to pay for the apartment she lived in and then the medical costs for her visits. And this didn't answer the questions as why Miranda's disease stopped progressing, but this did put up the question: Where was she getting the money?

Robin looked up Jezebelle's address in a separate screen. The address popped up in the League system, and Robin's eyebrows rose higher. Someone had already been looking into where she was living. He guessed it was Batman, but was surprised when Black Canary's coded trail led her to the site. He looked closer and found Batman had also been looking into this, but why was Black Canary looking into this? Robin had no idea how she was connected to this, but he continued to look into Jezebelle's address.

His eyes narrowed when he saw something in the encryption of the address. A video. Robin immediately followed the trail and opened a camera shot of the front of Jezebelle's apartment. It was a trip camera, a specialty of Batman. It was used to see who was coming in and out of a building and usually Batman kept the cameras close at hand for his business and his home. Why for her?

This was starting to annoy Robin. There were too many questions, and not enough answers.

Robin played the video form the first day it was placed there, the day of the break in. He fast forwarded for the first couple of hours, and then suddenly his eyes went wide. No way.

The shot showed Jezebelle dressed in tight black capris and a black long sleeved shirt with a black mask over her face. She didn't look anything like herself, and the red contact made him grimace. She looked almost demented. He watched as she went around a corner and the camera followed, watching her get into a car.

Robin immediately pulled open another screen and had the license plate flowed for that time period. Whatever was going on made Robin think back critically to the young woman he had heard about. He would never have guessed this was what he would have found, but this only added another question to the long list now. Why was she dressed like that? He hadn't seen her in the many sprouting young heroes, but then again he hadn't seen her on the long list of new mini villains. So who was she really?

The tracker of the car comes to an abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere. The place was huge and a satellite image of the place at that time showed that the place was full of people. He watched as Jezebelle got out of the car and goes into the large warehouse with men flanking her on each side like body guards. What was going on?

Robin watches longer, and suddenly, it all clicks in his mind like a perfect puzzle. It all fit. Every question, every observation suddenly came together in a great epiphany.

She was a cage fighter for Meta Humans. That's why Bruce was so interested in her. She was probably one of, if not, the youngest cage fighter there.

And that's where she got the large sums of money. She was getting the money for Miranda's hospital bills.

Robin rocked on the back of his heels in the new found knowledge. But then again, not all of it fit as perfectly as he had first thought. How was Jezebelle stopping the continuation of her sister's sickness? Did she have a private doctor off the record? Was she making her own medication?

And why was Black Canary checking in on her? How was she even connected to Jezebelle?

Robin stared at the screen in front of him in total concentration, and he made his mind before he clicked out of the computers site. He was going to do some digging. This was starting to become a question too big to just ignore and it seemed this girls name was just popping up everywhere. He had to get to the bottom of this, and he knew just where to start.

He checked the warehouses address and without a back glance, he left Mt. Justice for the cage fights.

* * *

><p>Two days had passed since his digging, and for some reason, Dick hadn't told Bruce his knowledge of the girl and the fact of Bruce being there when her little sister was shot.<p>

He didn't know why he didn't share the facts and the information with him. Maybe it was because he figured Bruce already knew about it, but when Dick thought about it, he knew that wasn't the reason. In all actuality and reality, Dick was angry with Bruce. He was his _partner_. He understood that some things were personal and not everything could be discussed between them, but he also knew that some things _had_ to be discussed and shared between the two crime fighters. It was their _job_ to talk to one another about these things and Bruce hadn't done it. In fact, he had dismissed him from the patrol that night.

He was angry that even being his father's closest ally and strongest confidentiality, still wasn't enough for Bruce to simply tell him what was on his mind. He was _angry_ about it, and so for the next days, he spent the night at Mt. Justice; thoroughly avoiding his adoptive father.

However, even though his family issues were getting bad, his detective skills were getting better and better. He found that Jezebelle had a doctor working undercover for her at a pharmaceutical company and was making a kind of medication for stopping Miranda's condition. He was expensive though, and that also put into account why Jezebelle was fighting in the cage.

He also found out that Jezebelle's fighter name was Red Butterfly and that Black Canary was interested in the young fighter as an apprentice. This had shocked him when he first found out, but he also understood how unique this situation really was.

He had pretty much come full circle after discovering all of this, but he still felt like he was forgetting something important. What though, was beyond him. That was why tonight, he was going back to the cage fights to see if he could see anything that would jump out at him.

And what he found was more than a little shocking.

* * *

><p>I get to the newest location of the fight club at around ten thirty. The doors open to me like I'm some kind of royalty, but I make my way to the separated locker rooms with my head held low. I wasn't in the mood to make myself seem larger than life to the other fighters I passed. I had a plan and I just wanted to do this and get out of here. I just had to.<p>

I enter the locker rooms and immediately I see Joe, my casher.

"Oh good! You actually showed up. You know I thought you were serious when you said you weren't going to fight for me anymore!" he sighs out in obvious relief, but I pop his little bubble with my next statement.

"Oh, I was serious. This is my last time," I say in a monotone and in an octave lower like usual.

Joe's eyebrows come up in horror and surprise. "What? Are you serious!"

I nod and I grab medical tape from the table next to me and I start wrapping my wrists and knuckles. "I wouldn't lie to you Joe. I'm done," I say smoothly. "Get me my money, and then I'm leaving. End of story," I deadpan.

Just then the body guard tells me it's my turn to fight and I turn away for Joe who was wearing a comical expression of outright stunned surprise. I pass through the door and go down the long hallway. Soon I'm in my pale circle and I close my mind to all the noise around me. Focus.

No emotion. No words. No fear.

Focus.

The pale circle lifts me to the waiting arena, and the lights blind me momentarily. The crowds scream my name and I lift my eyes immediately to my opponent.

A man. Six foot three inches tall, built around the arms and chest. So far not showing any powers. Balanced. The mental notes passed through my head as I assessed my opponent.

Roulette says things and I hear more cheering, but I'm not paying attention. I notice the man favors his left leg and his hands had scrapes on them. He must have had a fight earlier on tonight. It's a good sign for me; it was an opportunity to exploit his weakness for me to win.

Roulette yells for us to start and I immediately lash out, throwing my entire self into this fight. I knew I could beat this man, but then again I needed the theatrics for the extra money. So I let the fight take longer than it usually would take to win. By the time the man hit the floor unconscious, I only had a bruise on my left hip. Tonight was a good night.

The next fight flew by with another man who could evaporate in the air. All I had to do was put my hand through the space where his head would be, and the still forming man crashed to the ground unconscious and bleeding from his nose. He was still alive and that was good enough for me. I needed to leave and the faster the better.

I watch as the crew pulls the mist-man off the mat. I get my fifteen minuet break and I arrive back on the platform right as my next opponent arrives.

Roulette gets very excited, and I can feel the energy in her voice as she yells to everyone, "And now Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the climax of tonight's games!"

The crowd roars in approval at the words, but I'm slightly annoyed. My opponent is obviously a girl with the curves she carries and the short shorts + skimpy netted shirt she wears, but her brunette hair is covering her face because she is looking at the floor beneath her.

I squint my eyes at her and take note of the way she stands. Her feet are planted shoulder width apart from each other and that tells me she is balanced, which means she probably knows how to fight. Her hands are held loosely at her sides, and I notice the size of her hands. Medium build, but with long fingers and short nails, perfect for punching, not slapping and scratching.

I stare at her hands and I feel a sort of de-ja-voo moment come over me. I knew those hands, sounds weird, but it was true. But from where?

"On one side, we have our favorite Red Butterfly, who has so far never lost a fight!" Roulette yells to the already screaming crowd. They rotate another long yell of approval and Roulette continues on with an evident smirk in her voice.

I notice the woman is my height, and I feel the de-ja-voo feeling come back to me. I knew this woman, I was sure. I just needed to see her face. Who could she be? A past rival?

"And on the other side is the newest contender of our little game, a woman who might even match the flying kicks of our fierce Butterfly. Everyone please welcome Red Butterfly's next opponent, The Scream Queen!"

The crowd screams. The woman across from me lifts her head.

And my blood turns to ice in my veins.

The hands, the posture, the perfect balance. I should have known. I should have seen this.

Her hair was dyed a dark drown, and she had a black strip of material covering her eyes that covered the blue coloring I knew I would have been seeing instead of whited out lenses, but I saw through the disguise immediately and my stomach dropped to the floor.

It was Black Canary.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh DAYUMMMM ... now what?<strong>

**Hehehehe :D**

**no, really though. SO dick's mad at Bruce who is starting to feel guilty about Miranda and Jezebel. Jezebel is going off the deep end and feels the need to do anything to get away from the memories that surround her; _and_ in her fragile state of mind, OF COURSE moving to a diffrent country is the best way to go!**

**Sarcasm, my first language. **

**But then! ... BLACK CANARY! so yea, we get more of her :) **

**M****y little character is SOL.**

**You know what to do, REVIEW!**

**(ooooo that rhymed :D ... do I get bonus points for that?)**

**~missmusicluver**


	14. Chapter 14

Oh _shit._

I mean, _damn. _

Out of all the opponents in the world, I just _had_ to get the one woman in the entire world that I had threatened.

_The __**freaking**__ Black Canary. _

FMFL.

Cus words ran through my mind at a hundred miles an hour. My luck these days … honestly, someone in heaven had my number on their shit list.

Roulette looks thoroughly smug about herself when I look up at the large screen near the ceiling to my left. Her image on the screen was grinning madly and her red painted nails clutched a silver microphone. "Fight!" she nearly screams at me through the screen.

My head snaps back to my opponent across the room, but it was too late. I just had enough time to look and comprehend a shiny black boot coming at my face before I was kicked off my feet and I was thrown backwards. I let myself fall backwards and I arch my back, letting my momentum send me in to several backflips.

I land on my feet and duck to the left just as the 'Scream Queen's' foot came flying at me yet again. Her body twists to the right from the momentum of her kick and I swing at her exposed back. Black Canary steps backwards before I make contact and I swing my foot at her. Again she ducks my leg and she reacts with a quick but strong punch to my side. Her other hand follows through with the same punch and the air leaves my lungs.

My torso bends forwards and before I can react, Black Canary's first hand comes up and makes contact with the bottom of my jaw; making me fly backwards into the metal bars of the cage. I gasp in a breath quickly and throw myself to the left. Black Canary's oncoming foot makes contact with the metal in the cage and I jump at her unbalanced form. I punch her torso twice and as she falls forwards, I grab her dyed hair and bring my knee up to her forehead; making the top of my knee bruise in the process.

I let go as she falls backwards to the ground, but Canary rolls from her fall and she's on her feet again before I can blink.

_Well honestly, what did you expect? You're dealing with a fighter four times more experienced than you. You're lucky to still be breathing really_, I tell myself.

Note to self: stop being such a freaking pessimist.

I attack before she can regain her balance and I kick her in the head. Her head snaps to the left and she stumbles to the right, but still on her feet. I follow her and swing at her head. Her arms stop my impact and I follow through with my other arm. Again her arms push my forearms away from her so I throw a 360 kick around at her.

My leg swings around and it meets nothing but air. She's ducked again. She grabs my wrist before my leg hits the ground and I twist to my side to get out of her hold on me. I break free of her fingers but not in time to feel her sharp kick to my lower back. My back arches in pain, and I strike out with a right punch to her head again.

She twists away and to me, it looks like she's twirling like some graceful ballerina. God, how does she_ do_ that?

I don't waste time in sight seeing much longer and I bring my right leg in a powerful kick to her chest with as much power as I can. My leg makes contact with her, but it's not with her chest, it's with her arms.

She wraps her arm under my knee and the other around my calf with deadly accuracy. I knew what she was going to do before she did it, and I knew I couldn't get out of this hold without breaking a bone in the process. Too bad that wasn't up for options.

Her fingers clench at my skin and pull backwards with a practiced force. My one remaining leg collapses as she pulls me from the ground. Before I know it, I'm flying through the air and landing against metal bars at my back in ice breaking pain.

I land on the ground in a heap and on my side. The breath was knocked out of my lungs again, and I suck in oxygen before I force my arms to hold up my upper body. I place my legs beneath me and force my muscles to push myself upwards.

"Oh what's this! Is our little Butterfly going to be beaten by the Queen?" Roulette asks the crowd in a mocking astounded face.

I shake my head at the rising black points in my eyes and I focus on the Scream Queen with my dizzy and bleary eyes. Man, that last move _really_ hurt. I roll my shoulders back and breathe in and out in a practiced rhythm. Okay, maybe I can't beat her, but I can hurt her right? I just had to find the right opening…

But it's too late.

Black Canary/ Scream Queen runs at me and before the doubles of her enter my already fuzzy mind as being too close for comfort, I feel a heavy leg smash into my head.

Then, all I see is black.

* * *

><p>Jezebelle falls at Black Canary's feet with a heavy 'THUD'. The crowd around the ridiculous cage screams their approval and Black Canary grimaces in disgust. To take pleasure in watching other people get hurt and possibly die… it made Black Canary sick to her stomach.<p>

A bell sounds, meaning she's won, and Black Canary places her hands on her hips in triumph like her alter ego 'Scream Queen' is supposed to do. The crowd brings around a fresh round of yells and applause to her. The cage opens for her, and Canary immediately walks out of the cage to the awaiting hallway, with several black dressed men carrying the unconscious Red Butterfly between them.

They place her in a locker room and Canary follows them, staying to the shadows. She slips in behind the last man, and waits for them to leave her on the table metal table like they're supposed to.

But instead, they set her on the table and stand around her like they're stalking prey. "She said to find out the identity," one of the men says to the others around him.

"Yea, well Roulette didn't have to touch her, now did she?" One of the others answers, hesitation clear in his voice.

"You want to tell her we failed?" the first man asks.

There's a collected silence around the group of men and the first man who spoke speaks up again. "Okay, I'll do it," he announces to them.

The men wait, nodding and relieved they didn't have to do it themselves. The first, hesitates, then steps closer to the unconscious teenager in front of them with a shuffled step. He stops close to her and hesitantly reaches out a hand to the black mask on the girls face.

His fingers touch the black material and Black Canary steps forwards, ready to smash the guy's head in.

Suddenly from the supposedly unconscious body, the girls arms reaches out lightning fast and her hand wraps around the mans outstretched hand. She grips the man hand, and the man yelps in pain as she tightens her hold.

"Get out," she whispers deathly silent.

The men, remembering her from their last meeting turn tail and _run_ out of the room before Jezebelle can sit up on the table.

"You can come out, I know you're watching," Jezebelle calls out to the shadows around her, obviously meant to be for Black Canary.

Black Canary smirks from her hiding place. It seems she had picked a kick butt _and_ observant protégé. She breaths out and walks out of her hiding place, her steps slow and unthreatening.

* * *

><p>My eyes immediately land on the emerging Scream Queen with narrowed eyes. "Why are you here?" I ask out viciously. I really wasn't in the mood to deal with anything right now. Least of all <em>her.<em> I mean, she just beat the crap out of me. I wasn't particularly in the mood for sympathy and feelings.

If anything, I wanted to hit something. I wanted to hit something _really badly_.

I guess that's not really healthy, but oh well.

"I'm just here to talk," she says now in the light.

"You could have said something before you nearly put me through a metal cage," I say stepping off the metal table a little gingerly. My entire back and arms were on fire.

"You wouldn't have listened," Black Canary says back immediately.

So what if she's right? I still didn't like her. "Go away," I say, my arm wrapping around my torso suddenly from a sharp pain in my chest.

Black Canary steps forward as if to help, but I put up my left hand to stop her. "Don't touch me," I say between my teeth. Man o man, my chest was seriously _on fire._ What was wrong with me?

Black Canary drops her arms, but steps closer to me. "I heard about Miranda. I'm sorry," she says sounding almost… regretful? Why? She hadn't even met her. My baby.

Miranda's name opens a black hole in my heart and my mind goes into a red faze. "Don't you ever say her name. Don't you dare talk about her in front of me," I spit out, venom dripping from every word. My fists were clenched and my jaw was locked so hard I was surprised later on that my teeth didn't shatter. "You didn't know her, you don't have the right to say _anything_ to me about her." I suck in a breath and feel the back of my eyes prickle.

Oh hell no, I was _not_ going to cry now.

"Get out," I say with the same deadly calm I used on the men that carried me in.

I feel my shoulders tense and I turn my back on Black Canary. _Don't cry, don't cry, don't _cry, I chant to myself in my head.

I realize from the back of my mind that the exit is behind Canary, so I turn around and sprint to the door away from her. I get about two feet until I feel soft skin hit me and stop me in my tracks.

Without warning, I feel thin but strong arms wrap around me. Hands press at my back and another at the base of my neck. My head falls forward gently, landing on the shoulder of this stranger and I realize with faint surprise that Black Canary was _hugging_ me.

WTF? Had the world turned upside down? Could pigs fly? What had just happened? Surely not _this._ Not what I think is happening.

"It's okay. You don't have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders by yourself," Black Canary whispers softly. The hand on my back makes circles on my skin and I feel my head sink lower into her shoulder. My chest constricts and I feel my shoulder start to shake softly.

_Her damn fingers and those damn circle things she does_, I think to myself realizing that I can feel myself releasing tension from my body. _Damn fingers._

Before I know what's happening, I realize I'm crying.

"Shh," Black Canary says softly, her hands still moving in small circles. "You're going to be okay," she whispers into my ear. "You're strong."

I shake my head viciously as tears fall out of my eyes, unstoppable. "No, no I'm not. That was always Miranda. She was the strong one. She was… she was…" I say spluttering now as heart tearing sobs ripped through my chest like knives. "She was… She was strong."

Black Canary's arms come around me tighter, and I can feel her soft skin against mine. "Of course she was Jezebelle. She was the strongest because she fought against someone she knew she couldn't win from," she whispers to me, sending a sense of calm through my veins.

Without permission or reason, I wrap my arms around Black Canary as well. I just needed to hold on to something real. Something other than memories; something that could hold me back.

Her arms tighten in response and I collapse against her, making us both fall to our knees onto the floor. Her arms are still around me, so I end up leaning against her like a small child does with its mother; with my head tucked under her chin and my legs nearly resting on her lap.

"It's okay, just cry," She says holding me still while my shoulder shook.

I nod into her, my insides feeling like mush.

All the anger I had felt in the earlier afternoon was now gone. All the hatred, the agony, the pain, and the violence disappeared after she had touched me. She was like my own personal light switch for my emotions. Her fingers pressed reassuringly in my back and I breathed in deep, taking in her scent and her warmth. She smelled like a variety of meadow flowers and a little of cheap scented perfume with the mixture of sweat. All together, the smell was pleasant and it reminded me of a working mother with a home cooked meal waiting for her. It reminded me of … a home.

Which in turn, reminded me of Miranda. Which in turn, made me cry even harder. Damn perfume.

But still I hung onto her like a life line that I couldn't hang up. I held onto her with desperate fingers. The whole 'I'll-kill-you-with-one-look' kind of attitude slipped through the brick wall around my heart and I just sat there and cried.

I cried for my loss, my pain, my anger, my hate, my sadness and myself. It was the ultimate pity party for myself, but for some reason, it was making me feel better than I had felt in the last few days. I wasn't feeling anger, or loss. I was feeling, empty.

And to me, it was bliss. _Thank god for fingers_, I thought.

Soon though, my emotions weren't ruling me, and I realized where I was and what the hell I was doing.

I jump away from Black Canary like she had a disease and I jump to my feet. "What the-" I say out loud, my emotions still in high gear and my walls still crumpled around my heart. What was I doing? WTH was I doing?

Black Canary gets to her feet and she puts up her hands like she's talking to a scared animal. "Listen, don't run. I just want to talk to you," she says stepping closer to me.

I don't step away, but I also don't step towards her. "What do you want?" I ask shaking myself from my emotional breakdown.

"I just want to talk," she says taking another step closer to me with her hands still raised.

This time I do take a step away from her. "Then talk."

Black Canary stops and nods once to me. She drops her hands slowly to her sides and she looks me in my red contacted eyes. "I want to help you,' she says starting off.

"I don't need your help," I say immediately. Then thinking back to the last few minuets, I feel a blush make its way up my neck and to my face.

"Yes you do, and you know it," she tells me without excuses. "You're taking on the world by yourself and you need someone to show you the ropes and how to not get burned by the people out there," she says looking at me like she's seeing into my soul. I get angry.

"I've been climbing those ropes since I was 10. I've been burned so many times, I've lost count. Save your speech for someone else. I don't want it, need it, or care about it. Leave me alone."

"Jezebelle you need-" she says reaching out to me again.

"I need to get away from _you_," I say stepping backwards from her again.

She stops and shakes her head. "Jezebelle-"

"Stop that!" I yell at her. "You don't know me! You don't have a clue who I am except for the things you read off pieces of paper about me!" I say taking another step back.

The door behind her isn't the only one that leads out. I think of the metal door that's hidden by the shadows of the lockers and I take a step backwards, closer to my escape.

"Fine then, Red Butterfly. You don't need to be doing this by yourself. I want to help you be better, be stronger than you are right now," She says quietly.

My retreat stops at her words. Stronger? Was that what I needed, to be stronger?

"I can teach you," she says with another step forwards. I don't move. "I can teach you to be better than you are. To use your talent to help others in the world, to stop the killings on the street; I can help you. You just need to trust me."

I'm silent. Her words run through my mind and it's like a different language to me. Help? Teach? What? Wait, what?

"Trust," I say out loud. My voice is cold, unemotional, and final. I know what I had to do. "I trust no one, and I never will. Least of all you," I say taking my last step backwards. The door was just to my left.

"Wait-" she says.

"Goodbye Black Canary, I won't be here again and I doubt I'll ever come back," I say looking straight into her eyes. "Thanks." Then without a backwards glance I grab my duffle bag from beside me and run out of the door beside me, ignoring the call of my name from the open door already in my past.

It was time to leave. And even though, for a second my pain was taken away, I couldn't hide in the shadows of someone else from my own pain.

She was right though, I had to be stronger and better.

* * *

><p>Robin was thoroughly confused again.<p>

What had just happened?

WHAT had just _happened_?

Black Canary and Jezebelle Keating… huh.

Robin was up in the catwalk near the skylights of the open fighting arena. He had just witnessed a fight off between his mentor and the girl, Jezebelle.

Black Canary, dressed as Scream Queen, had won of course, just as he had expected, but what he hadn't expected was what came next.

He had followed the unconscious girl and Black Canary threw a technicians side door into the empty locker rooms, where he was now sitting in the shadows. He had walked in on a conversation between the two of them and he trained his ears to pick up their almost whispered conversation.

"…didn't know her, you don't have the right to say _anything_ to me about her," Jezebelle, the one he had been looking into earlier said. "Get out," she whispered to his mentor and den mother.

Okay, he had _obviously_ missed something important. What were they talking about?

Then, she sprinted forwards, to the door, he thought. But halfway there, Black Canary stopped in front of her and they collided into one another.

Robin eyed the collision with practiced eye. If Canary was going to fight this girl, he would back her up. He prepared to jump out of the shadows when he saw Black Canary grab the skin of the girls back almost … gently.

He shook his head to make sure he was seeing things clearly. Was Black Canary _hugging_ her? The girl she just beat up? … _HUGGING her?_

He blinked twice and he leaned forwards, a new thought taking his place. He had just been here to gather information of the organization of the fight club, but it looked like he had missed some kind of relationship between the girl and his den mother. What exactly was going on here?

They both fell to the ground, and Robins eyes widened when he realized that the girl Black Canary was hugging was… _crying. _

"…don't have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders by yourself," Black Canary whispers. Robins eyes widen even more. He had never heard this woman sound so … motherly. Only a hand full of times had he seen her even look sympathetic or nice. It happened whenever she spoke to Speedy/Red Arrow and whenever she was giving him therapy sessions. Like he had said, only a handful of times.

So why be so nice to her, a complete stranger?

"Shh," Black Canary says softly, her. "You're going to be okay," she whispers into the new girl's ear. "You're strong."

And a pep talk; man what was _with_ this girl?

The girl shakes her head and he realizes she is crying even harder. "No, no I'm not. That was always Miranda. She was the strong one. She was… she was…" she was spluttering now and Robin can't help but feel a little sympathetic. He knew how much it hurt to watch your family die before your eyes. "She was… She was strong."

Oh, so they were talking about her sister.

Wow, they were already on heart to heart conversations. It had taken him and Bruce a couple of months to get that far after his adoptive father had taken him in.

"Of course she was Jezebelle. She was the strongest because she fought against someone she knew she couldn't win from," Black Canary whispers again.

By this time, Robin is starting to get uncomfortable. He really shouldn't be listening to this… He had come to find out information about the fight club, not the personal story behind this girl and the strongest woman he knew other than Wonder Woman.

This just seemed kinda … wrong.

He watched the girl in Black Canary's arms for another moment. This was the girl that had saved him? The crying, broken teenager in front of him? Black Canary continued to hold the girl, and Robin made a decision. He got up from his spot silently and slipped out of the room like a shadow. He hadn't signed up for that, he should be doing his own thing.

He made it up to the roof of the building and he sat on the roof with his hands between his knees. Some recon mission. With the information he had, he could successfully prove that Black Canary was a kick butt super hero who actually had a heart. Yea, news braking report.

He had decided to get up and go snooping through the fight ring leaders office when he heard a metal door slam. He went to the side of the roof silently and looked down.

Below him, he saw a familiar black dressed teen sprint away from the recently opened door from the side of the building. She was sprinting away from the building with a duffle bag on her shoulder. Black Canary was at the mouth of the doorway a second later, looking worried.

"Goodbye," he heard her whisper.

He looked out from the top of the roof to the direction the girl was running and pulled out his holographic computer from his arm.

An image opened in front of him and he clicked on the image of a superhero.

"Blue Beetle? Hey it's Robin, I have a favor." Robin said quietly and calmly, looking back out to the direction of the run away girl, and then back down at the image of a hurt Black Canary below him.

* * *

><p><strong>Robin's eavesdropping? And now he's gonna do what exactly?... :) you shall see.. muah ha ha!<strong>

**And AWWW tender moment between Black Canary and Jez :)))**

**BUT here's the twist... she _ denied _Black Canary's help... HUH? Yep. **

**So now what you ask? **

**NOw ... I thank my FANTABULOUS readers. LOL i got ... 63.3524 bonus points! LOL you guys made me laugh :)**

**Hope you guys liked this one, now i plan to sleep or... idk check my tumbr :)**

**~missmusicluver**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey guys! Big news, this is chapter 15! WOW. **

**So, a few things you guys should know before reading... **

**1) This is set 6 months after Miranda dies and Jez decides to move.**

**2) The _italisized_ conversation in dialogue means it's translated straight from Spanish to English, so there's no confusion.**

**3) For those who don't figure it out at the end, the 'stalker' was and _is_ Robin's favor that he asked for from Blue Beetle. SPOILER alert, yea i know. Sorry.**

**:DDD so anyways, hope you like/ love reading this next chap as much as i liked writing it. **

**PS. CHALLENGE: every single person who subscribed/alerted this story to read or favorited, REVIEW. I don't care if it's a 'liked it' and then that's it. Or if its a five page critic, i just want opinions, ideas, yadda yadda yadda. So THERE. CHALLENGE! see if you can deny this muahahaha.**

**K heres the story, i'll stop talking now..**

* * *

><p>Six Months Later -<p>

Bolivia, South America

March 3

It was March. The smell of moist dirt fills my nose as my pickaxe hits solid rock beneath me. Shiny flecks of metal infected rock spring up from the earth when I pull back again. I pick up the shiny rocks with my hands and put them in a large twine bag by my feet.

Without stop, I pick up the pickaxe again and swing as hard as I can into the ground below me. Dirt flings up into my nose, and I wipe my nose with my already dirty hands. Sweat pours down my face, and my breathing is ragged from working for more than six hours since our last break.

The walls in the mountain cave I'm in shakes viciously, meaning a bomb went off somewhere else in the mine.

"Empaque, nos vamos en cinco minutos," _Pack up, we leave in five minuets, _my manager and team mate, Juan, announces to the others in the cave with me.

I get my twine bag at my feet and pull the thin drawstring opening together and knot the opening tight with dirt crusted fingers. Thank god it was time to go, my entire body was screaming for sleep.

It had been another twenty four hour shift for my team and I last night. The vein we were mining in had gotten larger, and that meant more money for every pound of the metallic rock we found. So more hours for me with no sleep.

I sling my twine sack over my shoulders like the people around me, and we all make our ways uphill to the mountain opening above us, down the dirt trodden path. The faint lights in the wall show a hazy outline of the other people around me and they all look as worn out as I feel. Dirt and dust cover most of everyone's skin, and I see very few people smiling. Usually they would be happy quitting time was here, but today, everyone's demeanor was in the gutter. Someone else had died today from Silicosis.

"Todo el mundo antes de lapróxima explosión viene!" _Everyone out before the next explosion comes! _Juan yells to us, making everyone hurry and run to the cave opening, a good seven hundred feet above us.

I run and exit the hole behind me just as another explosion rocks the mountains very foundation. The men and young boys around me were breathing hard after the run, and I had to admit I was winded as well. Bolivia's temperature this time of year wasn't helping my mood either. It was 47 degrees outside, and the faint drizzle of rain was sticking to my dirt crusted skin. Gross.

Instead of whining, I picked up the twine sack and walked over to a large metal scale on the other side of the mountain camp. I dropped the twine bag on the metal plate and a Mexican man on the other side of it nods at the number on the scale. "¿Tienes un montón Jezebelle hoy, buenas ganancias?" _You got a lot today Jezebelle, good pickings?_ He asks me, raising a dark eyebrow.

I shrug a shoulder absently. "Tiene mejor que los hombres y que es lo que importa." _Got better than the men, that's all that matters._

The man smiles crookedly and nods in understanding. The men in the camping grounds and in the mountain had just now stopped making comments about girls doing a man's work and the news was spreading through the camp. I wasn't going anywhere and I could do anything a man could do.

The man gave me the amount of money I had earned from the weight of the rocks and I tucked into my thin shirt pocket. I nodded to the man once and made my way down a wide dirt road, down the mountain top.

At the bottom of the mountain, I spied the timber roofed houses that stretched side by side as far as the eye could see. The walls were made of rock and wood and very few were bigger than a one room apartment. They all looked the same except for the occasional clothes line or food shack that was spread around the large neighborhood. It was home, or what home could be for me.

I reach the neighborhood by nightfall and at that time, people have seen me and approach me with outstretched hands. "Sanador! Mi hijo ha caído enfermo, por favorsalvar a su!" _Healer! My child has taken ill, please save her!_ A small woman pleads to me with wrinkled hands of a clothes washer. I look at her and immediately nod my head. Tonight was going to be a long one, I could tell.

Threw the next four hours, I use my 'manos que curan' or _healing hands_, to help the people around me, in my neighborhood. After the little girl were two teenage boys with the beginnings of silicosis, a thirty year old man with a sprained ankle, and a middle aged woman with a broken arm. After this, my mind was foggy and my limbs were made of lead.

I pull myself away from the middle aged woman with a now fully healed arm and nearly collapse backwards from her. Her husband close at hand, catches me before I hit the floor and helps me to my feet.

"_Are you okay?" _he asks, steading me on my feet.

"_Fine_," I say back, my stomach turning uncomfortably and my head spinning.

"_Do you need help to get back-_" he starts to ask.

"_I'll be leaving now, I recommend water and less strain on that arm,"_ I say turning from him in interruption. I don't wait for an answer or their appreciation; instead I walk out of their house and down the nearly dark street. People walk up to me, but I raise my hands in defeat and they understand I can't help them.

When I had first arrived here three weeks ago, I had passed out and nearly killed myself from over exhaustion. Since then, I had made it clear to everyone that I had a limit and if pushed, I would not heal at all.

I get to my house/shack and push open the thin wooden door. Without washing in the small bin in the corner of the room like I usually did, I fall immediately into my thin mattress and promptly fall asleep.

My dreams come thick, and unforgiving. They come back with an edged violence and blinding pain. No images, just the desperate feeling of pain, washing over me again and again.

I wake up covered in sweat at the break of dawn and pull myself upwards before I can blink away the leftover sleep from my eyes. I wipe my face from the back of my sleeve and roll myself out of my bed. Last night's nightmares had left a familiar head ache wrapping around my head.

I dunk my head in the basin and shiver from the cold water touching my scalp. I wash my face, head and neck in the basin with a bar of soap near me and rinse myself with a small pitcher of water beside me. I dry myself with a ragged blue towel and sit on my bed again. Thoughts go through my mind before I can stop myself and distract myself like I usually do.

March. Six months had come and gone already.

In some ways, the six months had passed by in a blink of an eye, but in another sense, it felt like time hadn't moved at all. Six months of constantly moving from one city of country to another, never staying past a month; mostly never past a week. I had traveled down to Mexico as soon as I had left Rhode Island. From there, I had moved on from city to city, not really keeping track of the names and the faces I met along the way.

But to my annoyance … and then …soon growing fear, I realized someone was always following me.

I didn't know who or why, but with every city I relocated to, I found someone either filming me or taking pictures of me from far off, secretly and discreetly. Like they didn't want to be seen. At first I had thought it was the government tracking me to take me back to America, but then I soon realized that the people who were following me weren't after bringing me back, but only after the images they collected. I hadn't spoken face to face with the people who were watching me, but I knew it wasn't one person. With every city I moved to, it was a different face following me.

But who would want to follow me? Canary? The fight club? The Justice League after I all I had done in the fight club?

I didn't know who, and I never got close enough to the photographer to 'talk' to them about it. In fact, whenever I showed the stalker I knew they were watching me, they disappeared for about two days before coming back, this time better hid.

Which brought me to Bolivia, in the middle of March.

The last city I had been in was Ambator in Ecuador and the photographer that had been following me had found me again, meaning that it was time for me to leave again. I left and took a several buses to the middle of nowhere, here. I had been in Bolivia for three weeks now, and after joining the mine camps for money, I had settled down little by little, finally shaking off the stalker. I knew that the moment he/she came again looking for me, I would pack up and leave without a second glance, but for now, I had gained respect in the mines and in the neighborhood I stayed in.

The towns people called me their 'curador' or _healer_, a name I had gotten the first night I had gotten there. I had literally just gotten off the bus, my paranoia going down a notch after an excruciating seven hour bus ride, when several people coming down the side of the mountain came running forwards to town with a small boy on a stretcher, half of his face blown away from a mine.

At first, I was tempted to just leave the child to his own fate. It wasn't my responsibility to help everyone who landed in my lap. My mind was thick with annoyance and almost hate from my latest transfer to a new place, again. Honestly, couldn't I just live my life in peace?

But after seeing a short, frumpy woman run out of a wooden shack in near hysteria at seeing her apparent son's wounds, my heart sort of grew three sizes. I dropped my stuff right there on the ground and shouted to the people. I told them I was a doctor in training and I could help. They then sort of looked at me like I was lying, and I had to go and show them that I wasn't a lunatic by placing my hands on the boy's face and healing his skin.

About three hours later, after being thoroughly depleted of energy and being seriously dehydrated, the boy in my hands had a face again, whole and healed. Well except for the eyebrows. No matter how hard I tried, making hair grow just wasn't in my power list. But of course after this, I was dubbed the town official healer and later on 'the' working woman in the mines. Score one for the feminist in me.

Which officially brought me up to date with the days I now was living in, the present. I sat in my bed a little longer, pondering over my history before standing up. Out of the seven days in a week, I had one day off for myself, Sunday. And boy oh boy did I plan to use it well.

I wanted a shower.

* * *

><p>Superboy was annoyed.<p>

From behind him, Artemis and Kid Flash were yelling at each other about something stupid again. Was it the tv remote this time? Artemis's bag of chips that had gone missing after Kid Flash had gone through the kitchen? Superboy had learned that tuning out his two team mates would be the only thing that would keep him sane during the days when there were no life and death situations going on.

And of course, Megan was playing peace keeper.

He heard her saying something soothing to Artemis and then a moment later he heard a snappy remark from the archer. "Calm down Artemis. Megan is only trying to help your situation," Kaldur said, stepping in line as the peacekeeper for the peacekeeper.

"Yea Artemis, chill out!" Kid Flash yelled and stuck out his tongue behind Kaldur's head, knowing it would make her mad.

Artemis narrowed her eyes and said infuriated, "Kid mouth you so much as touch my food again and I will take this arrow and shove it up your-"

Superboy tuned out the rest of the argument. So it was over food.

Robin, standing next to Superboy, sighed out loud. "They should just kiss and get it over with," he stated.

Superboy grunted in response. Anything to shut them up.

Robin stared at the arguing teens for another moment before looking away with another sigh.

What was up with Robin? Superboy thought looking at him closely. He didn't need x-ray vision to see something was wrong with him.

From behind them, the entire team froze as an all too familiar voice called out from the computer behind them. "Team, you're needed for a mission _now_," Batman said from the screen, his whited out eyes making everyone think he was glaring personally at them.

The Young Justice team stopped whatever they were doing and walked in front of the screen in a single file line, unintentional but effective. "Yesterday, the Justice League got wind that a large shipment of guns made from an unheard of metal made their way into the 'Lights' possession," Batman informed them all. "The League stopped the shipment, and upon looking closer at the metal, we found out that not only is it not found on earth, it can be used to be nearly indestructible under a certain amount of heat. We traced the shipment to Bolivia under a man named Andres Alarico, a weapons cartel lord who may be giving the light weapons of mass destruction," Batman informed them all, keeping every teenagers mouth in the room shut with the new information. "You are all to go in and do a simple listen and report mission. It's vital that they don't know that we are there and listening, so stay undercover and gather as much information as you can without people knowing who you are and what you're doing there. "he paused. "You leave in five minuets."

The bio ship lifted the team into the air five minuets later and Robin looked out the ship window, pumped for the mission, but oddly worried at the same time. Before Batmans's mission, he had spoken to Blue Beetle about Jezebelle Keating. And it wasn't good news.

Six months ago, he had asked Blue Beetle to keep track of her. To give him information on where she was and what she was doing. Why? Yea well he couldn't really answer that. All he knew was that she could very well be a threat if Jezebelle decided to go rogue. He had seen her fight in the cages against his _den mother_ and he had seen her moves. She could be dangerous, at least that's what he told himself whenever Blue Beetle asked him why he was checking up on her.

Five minuets ago though, Blue beetle had informed him secretly that Jezebelle had vanished off the map. No camera footage had found her face and she hadn't used any personal tech to trace her. She was officially lost to the both of them, and after six months of knowing her every move, he felt off his edge.

"Robin?" Kid Flash asked from the corner of Robin's mind.

Robin flashed back to the present and looked at his best friend. "Yea?" he asked looking at him in the eyes.

"Oh,.. uh… nothing. You just looked really out of it for a sec," Kid Flash said, looking away from him now, towards the front of the ship.

Robin looked away silently, annoyed. Things just weren't going well for him today. After school, well things had been tense between him and Bruce. Then the bad news about Jezebelle and now this off handed mission? Fantastic, the sidekicks get placed in the backseat _yet again_. He huffed silently in frustration and looked forwards in the ship, thinking hard. Hopefully this mission would distract him. He really needed a distraction.

* * *

><p>Well, my day was starting to <em>suck<em>.

After leaving my shack, I make my way to the food market a couple of streets away from me. I'd run out of food that week and after getting my paycheck for the previous week, I was in dire need of something to sink my teeth into.

With my stomach rumbling I make my way to the food lines and openly used shacks that selled home cooked meal. I stand in the nearest line to me, just wanting to eat something edible and suddenly freeze at the click of a camera that came from somewhere behind me.

A camera.

I twirl around and scan the area behind me, looking for a flash of silver metal and someone trying to blend in the crowd. Instead, I'm met with a crowd of cameras with their back to me, following what looked like a procession of grouped body guards around a single man. A thin man with deep brown skin of a man usually out in the sun a lot. He had a mass of black hair on his head that was carefully combed into perfection. He wore an expensive suit that stuck out in this dirt town like a diamond in coal. I knew him from only the other workers had said about him, the head boss and apparent weapons cartel lord Andres Alarico.

He stops in his mass of body guards and he points at the shacks around him. He smiles pleasantly at the people who were interviewing him and the camera flashes at him again, the clicking noises of the shutters making me release the tension form my shoulders. It wasn't for me, I was safe.

I turn my back on the camera crew and duck farther down the streets of food shacks. Well, if they weren't here for me, I wasn't going to let them get a snap shot on accident. Better to be on the safe side. I find another food seller and pay for mint leaves, a type of working food that keep you energized and keep your hunger down. I munch on the leaves as I travel farther from the flashing lights and the more towards the mining camps on the sea level flats near the houses. These mines had been used up over fifty years ago, so it was okay to live near them without fear of bombs going off.

I pass the other houses near me, and stay to the side of the houses and the edge of the abandoned mines. I'm in the middle of the no-mans land of both areas and my feet kick up dirt that blows lightly in the drizzle from the rain. I raise my head to the left. What was that? A noise, sharp… almost like a yell, or a-

BOOOOOM.

The ground shakes and fire shoots out from the ground. Flames lick my skin and I'm blown off my feet and thrown to the ground towards the small houses. I roll head over heels from the explosion and I don't stop until gravity instead of momentum slows me down. I land on my back in a 'oof!' and the breath gets knocked out of my lungs.

What had happened? What was going on? What had-

Then, I look to the right where the explosion had come from. The mines.

The abandoned mines? I look closer and flames are still shooting out of the mine openings and the ground around it. An actual explosion from within. What had set it off? Suddenly from the debris still falling from the sky, and the smoke in the air, I see several shadows of figures emerging from the mines. I get up slowly and run in a full sprint towards them. I wasn't thinking, but I knew that no one could just come out of the mines unhurt. They had just exploded…

And I stop dead when I reach them. I could easily see them and they me. They stood in from of me, all seven of them. They were covered in soot and dirt, but I recognized every one of their faces, their costumes. _You have got to be _kidding, I think, _not here, not now. I just got away. _The whites of their eyes looking straight into my face, and I felt my heart nearly stop and my stomach drop. It was the Young Justice team.

God _dammit._

* * *

><p>Robin's eyes widened. <em>No way.<em>

Jezebelle Keating stood in front of him.

Her clothes were a dull gray color, her hair was slightly longer than he had last seen her, and she was a lot thinner, but he knew who he was staring at. It was definitely her, the girl who had gone off the screen for the last three weeks. Jezebelle Keating.

He stared at her for a moment, completely lost in thought when Jezebelle reached out and took Miss Martian from Superboy. She looked down at his bleeding team mate and then looked at Kaldur. "She's hurt," she stated. Without waiting, she looked to the sides of her and the still falling debris of the bomb Megan had accidently activated. "Follow me," she said in command, not even glancing at him.

She turned on her heel with Miss Martian in her arms. "Superboy is it?" she asked Conner. Conner nodded and she lifted Megan to him. "Hold her and keep up. If the villagers find us here, you'll be strung up, or worse you could hurt someone," she said calmly and Conner accepting Megan into his arms. She turned from them again and ran to the small rock houses across from them. She turned back to the team and narrowed her eyes. "Move!" she hissed. "You want help, you move _now_," She said looking around her again.

Robin moved closer to her and shadowed her as she ran through the backstreets of the cobble houses. "Why do we need _her_ help," Robin heard Wally ask. "How can we trust her?" he asked running regularly beside him.

Apparently Jezebelle heard too. She turned to Wally faster than he thought possible from someone without the speedsters gene. "You need my help because I can help her," she said nodding to the unconscious and bleeding Megan in Conner's arms. "And as for trust, well, it's me or no one," she informed them stiffly. "After blowing up a mine, people tend not to trust the outsiders that did it," she said calmly.

"She's right Kid Mouth, shut it," Artemis said looking over at Kid Flash.

Wally closed his mouth. Yea, they were stuck between a rock and a hard place. Worse, Jezebelle was right. They had gotten themselves in situation where they depended on a complete stranger to help them after their mistake.

Of course, if things had gone _right_, these things wouldn't happen. But Robin didn't blame Miss Martina for accidently setting off the bomb. It _had_ been an accident. A stupid one, but one none the less. Now all they could do was hope that Jezebelle would help them without getting hurt in the process. Their mission might even have been compromised. Yea, Batman would _love_ that.

Jezebelle seemed to have known she had won the argument because she then led them to another small house, but this one she walked into easily and motioned for Conner to put Megan on a thin mattress in the corner. Conner obeyed silently and Jezebelle immediately put her hands on her shoulders.

"Hey! What are you doing!" Wally yelled at her. "You said you were helping, not molesting her!"

Jezebelle snapped her head to him, but Robin answered for her. "Kid Flash, she's healing her," he said calmly. "Remember her? The one from the Wayne break in? It's the same girl," Robin said, looking over and meeting Jezebelle's eyes.

Jezebelle looked at him coldly and she stared into his masked eyes. "How do you know me?" she asked.

Kid Flash's mouth dropped a little and Artemis looked at the thin girl with new eyes. Had Robin been the only one to see through the scrapes and bruises of her new life to recognize her?

"I saw you before you left," Robin answered. It was mostly the truth, just not all of it. Opps.

Jezebelle nodded, accepting his white lie. "Wait, what are you doing in _Bolivia_?" Kid Flash asked, going from offensive to curious in a blink.

"Starting over," she answered in an almost monotone and looked back to the martian. She placed her hands on her shoulders again, and Wally stood back and watched.

Robin saw a fait white light spread from Jezebelle's hands into Miss Martian. Superboy watched with hands across his chest and he stared at the back of Jezebelle's head like he was going to set it on fire from impatience.

Minuets passed, and before Robin thought possible, Miss Martian opened her eyes and she breathed out in relief. Her eyes met Jezebelle's and she crumpled her eye brows together. "Jez?" she asked like she couldn't believe what she saw.

Jezebelle narrowed her eyes at the green martian in front of her, and before Robin could stop her, Miss Martian threw her arms around Jezebelle's neck. "Jez!" she said in undeniable relief.

Robin immediately threw his hands in the air. What was she thinking! Jezebelle doesn't know Miss Martian, she knew Megan Moorse! Robin waved his hands behind Jezebelle's head, signaling for Megan to stop. Miss Martian met Robin's face and her eyes widened suddenly in knowledge and dawning fear. She withdrew from Jezebelle sharply and leaned away from her like Jez was going to hit her.

Jezebelle didn't move for a moment, and then before Miss Martian could react, she grabbed her face between both hands. "Megan?" she whispered quietly.

The room became silent. So quiet that they could all hear the fait drops of water from the drizzle outside hitting the roof.

Megan swallowed in fear and shook her head in refusal.

"Oh my god," Jezebelle said in a whisper. "It _is_ you."

Megan shook her head viciously as if she could take back the last minute. "No, I'm sorry you have the wrong person. I'm-"

"Megan Moorse," Jezebelle stated. She tipped head to one side and leaned forwards to the green alien. "Good god. I always thought you had out of this world balance, but jeez, I didn't _literally_ mean it," she said shaking her head. "You pretty much the last person I would have suspected, like _ever_."

"Listen, you got the wrong person. She isn't who you think she is," Superboy said from behind Jezebelle and pulled Miss Martians hand to get her up from the bed.

Jezebelle twisted around and stared Superboy in the face. "Conner?" she asked her eyes widening. "No freaking way," she said quieter.

Conner's jaw dropped a little and he took a step away from Jezebelle with Megan now next to him. "I don't know what you're talking-"

"Cut the crap," Jezebelle said suddenly and got up from the bed as well. She got close to Conner's face and she looked really mad. "Two years I've known the both of you and you couldn't manage to add in the fact that you're a) from another planet and b) you're Superman's kid!" she asked disbelief written on her face. "The disappearing acts from practice, the awkward conversations and excuses, and the weird conversations about your parents at parent volunteer for spirit week," she said out loud, although it was evident she was thinking this to herself. Then, "Oh god," she said in apparent shock.

Then just as suddenly as the rage had come, it disappeared. "Superman," she said calmly and in sudden clarity.

Robin widened his eyes. Oh crap! If Superboy was connected to Superman, Conner Kent could almost immediately be connected to-

"Clark Kent," Jezebelle deadpanned. Then after a heartbeat, "Superman… is a reporter?" she said looking over at Conner with wide green eyes. "Holy shiz," she said, now sitting down on the bed with Conner looking at her, a loss for words.

Robin was freaking out. Not good, not good, NOT GOOD. Mission was compromised, identity's compromised, holy crap, SUPERMAN was compromised.

Batman was gonna kill him. Actually, correction, Batman was gonna kill Aqualad. Speaking of which…. Robin looked over to the Atlantian and his stomach clenched painfully. Aqualad was staring open mouthed at the turn of events before him and he too seemed at a loss for words. She had just figured out three identity's in the span of sixty seconds. CRAP, CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP.

CRAP.

"Uh…" Robin said uneasily. How to deal with this situation?

"Team," Aqualad said suddenly looking towards the door. Outside, there were shouts from the street and angry yells from the lanes outside the house. "We need to escape, now," he said looking back to the rest of them. Aqualad turned to Jezebelle in quick step. "Is there any way to get out unnoticed?" he asked looking into her eyes.

Jezebelle stared back at him and nodded thinly. "Of course," she said standing up again. She looked to the back of the house and opened a small window. "If you all get out quickly, I can show you," she said quietly nodding to the window.

Robin was the first to move. "Perfect," he said and jumped through the window easily.

The footsteps and yells were getting louder. Artemis followed after Robin.

"Why not stay and just take her with us?" Kid Flash asked. "She knows Superman's identity! She can't be trusted to not tell anyone!" he said while Superboy and Miss Martian went through the window too.

"She healed Miss Martian, she can be trusted," Aqualad in a near statement. "And she saved Artemis and I when we fought against Poison Ivy," he said now going out the window too. "If she cannot be trusted, no one can," he said firmly.

The footsteps were nearly upon them.

"Hurry!" Jezebelle yelled. Kid Flash jumped through the window in a flash and someone pounded on the thin wood of the door behind Jezebelle.

"_By order of Andres Alarico, you are to be taken to him immediately!" _a voice shouted loudly and harshly.

Jezebelle looked back at the door and then at the waiting team in front of her. "Run," she said in an almost whisper. Her eyes were wide, and her face looked twice as pale. "Turn to the river in the south and go left until you hit the cliffs. The town shouldn't follow you there, they believe the devil lives there."

"Wait-" Robin said stepping forwards. She had to come with them, they couldn't leave her behind!

"Just go. Quickly! They won't hurt me, but you they will. Get back and go!" she said urgently.

The door blew open from behind her and she twirled around to face the incoming men.

Superboy grabbed the back of Robin's costume and hauled him away from the yelling house. The rest of the team followed quickly, and sprinted away leaving their savior alone, again.

_Batman's gonna kill me_, Robin thought as he retreated from the ruined mission and the missing girl. Now he could guarantee himself that he wouldn't find her for a long time. Fantastic.

* * *

><p>The door explodes from behind me, and I see one last look at Robin's masked face before I turn around and meet the men that blew down my door. I knew they had gone, they wouldn't stick around to help, they obviously weren't supposed to be here as from their tone.<p>

Men run in the house and two men grab my arms. They were dressed from head to toe in black and if I hadn't known better, I would have thought they were S.W.A.T. here to take me away. Their hands grip my arms tightly, and I don't move. Had they found out I was helping the YJ? Did they know who I was? Were they here to hurt me?

Thoughts ran through my mind at a hundred miles an hour, but I didn't attack the men that held me. If I had wanted to, I could get away easily, but I stand there instead wondering what they wanted.

"_Healer, do not go against us, we have orders to bring you to Andres Alarico immedialty,"_ one of the men told me quickly and efficiently. 

But they now addressed me as 'healer' … did that mean good news for me, or bad?

I let their hands push me forwards out of the house and down the street. Adults and children alike where watching on the sidelines looking stony and confused, but most were staring at me with a mixture of pity and sadness. Okay, that can't be good.

They push me towards the abandoned mines and my hands clench together nervously. Had they found out? Oh man, they were gonna shoot me dead.

The mines beside me where better than blown up. There was no trace of the old mines there at all. The one blast had apparently set other old bombs off all over the rest of the old mines. The gentle dirt that used to cover the area was blackened and mounded in burning piles. And near one of the biggest burning piles was a thin man with a mass of black hair.

He sat around a mass of people who were all trying to stop the bleeding that was coming from multiple cuts on his head and other areas on his body. His expensive suit was burnt in several areas and his nice leather shoes were covered in mud. It was Andres Alarico .

My stomach drops to my feet and I swallow hard. Oh crap, god what had I done?

* * *

><strong>Uh oh... That can't be good...<strong>

**THANK YOU, YOU FANTABULOUS READERS! I got more bonus points from yester-chapter and I felt good enough to write this for you all :)**

**So my BFF went to take a collage tour, and she stops a knife fight. FML ... what the H_LL am i going to do when she leaves for good? I'ma have to lo-jack her butt. :))) muahaha jkjk**

**BUT anyways.. I got Superboy's perspective in there. Pretty awesome right? i thought so too. And Robins. Yea, i know, i should put in more Batman cause he's awesome, but maybe later... (hint hint) ... and Black Canary's. 0.o i shall.**

**NOW ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE! ... review for me :) hehe**

**PS. On my tumblr, i have now decided to make 'Sneak Peaks' at my next chapters, so if you go on there occasionally, you might find one :)**

**KK ~missmusicluver out**


	16. Chapter 16

**HOLA! sorry for the delay. This week was... UGH, so busy. **

**But anyways here you go, hope you like it :)**

**Disclaimer: no, i don't own anything, but if i did I'd be freaking rich**

* * *

><p>"Faster," the man beside me growls menacingly. My concentration brakes and I flash him an annoyed expression.<p>

"If you keep interrupting me, I'll never get anywhere with him," I say narrowing my eyes at the body guard. This had been the _fourth_ time in _ten_ minuets.

The man didn't seem to register my annoyance. Instead he only narrowed his eyes back at me and orders again, "Faster."

I roll my eyes in exasperation and mutter, "Fine." I place my hands on the unconscious body in front of me and let my subconscious sink into his wounds. Apparently my patient, the Andres Alarico himself, had been hurt by one of the underground bombs that had gone off after the first big one. He had multiple burns along his arms and neck, accompanied with deep scratches from burning debris that landed on him afterwards. He had a small concussion, a twisted ankle and...

I retracted from his subconscious in surprise. There was something ... growing inside of him, in his pancreas. I let myself fall deeper and open my eyes in surprise. He had cancer.

"Is he fine?" the body guard asks me, stepping away from the wall he was leaning on.

I look at the body guard with blank and surprised eyes. "I- he- ... yea, he'll be okay," I say relapsing in English and putting my hands on the man's chest again. I let myself fall back into his wounds and I heal his damaged skin and muscle cells. I travel through his blood to look for infection and heal any threatening indicators. I stumble upon the mutating cells in the man's body and try to stop them growing. Sweat slips from my forehead and I feel my patient's heart beat faster. I pore my concentration into his cells and the growing process, stopping the cells and the mutation. I retract from him for a moment and the cancer moves again, devouring another cell. I push my eyebrows together and force myself to look closer at the cells, if I could just-

Someone's hands are on my shoulders and I jolt back into myself like electricity. My eyes snap open and I stare at a pair of deep chocolate set eyes staring at me. Andres Alarico lets go of me and his upper body falls back against the bed under him. I lean away from him and stand up.

"_Water_," he coughs out weakly.

Stopping the burly guard, I get a crystal glass of clear water and sit next to Andres on the bed. I set the glass to his lips and slowly pour the water to him as he eagerly accepts the water. I put the glass down and stand up again. His eyes follow me closely_. "Do you speak Spanish?"_ he asks.

"_Yes_," I say back to him in Spanish.

He nods and waves the guards over. _"Pack up her things in her home and move them. Do it by sundown_," he orders the man quietly. The guard nods once and heads out the door while I drop my jaw in surprise.

"_What? You can't just move everything I have, I –"_ I say in total disbelief. He just ordered me to _move._

"_You will be somewhere nicer, I promise you,"_ Andres says to me.

"_I don't want somewhere nicer, I want to-"_ I say.

Andres interrupts me. "_You will not be getting what you want_," he says in steel. I watch s his eyes glance down at me and then at the door behind me. "_Run if you like, but my guards will only be a moment behind you to drag you back_," he says.

I narrow my eyes in annoyance. "_I won't be running anywhere,"_ I say in steel like him.

He only grins at the corners of his mouth like he had guessed correctly about something. "_Good,"_ he tells me softly. I stare at him in suspicion, what did he want? I meet his eyes, and my blood goes cold. His eyes gave off an expression that was calculating and cold. I had seen the look with people in the cages and on the street. It was a look only desperate people could take honestly to their eyes.

Desperate for me? I thought. Now why?

He was silent as I stared at him and suddenly he said, "_You know."_

My eyes snapped up to him, and I knew he hadn't been talking about his expression. "_You will die_," I say straightforwardly.

Andres nods in knowing and my eyebrows come together. He accepts death, … just like _that_?

"_I have known for many months_," he tries to explain at my confused expression. "_The cancer will eventually kill me,_" he said.

My eyes go to the door to my side. "_And your men don't know, do they?" _I asked.

Andres narrows his eyes at me and I only raise an eyebrow at him. What was I gonna do? Tell everyone? They would probably all take out their guns and take turns shooting me for saying such lies.

Andres seemed to understand that too and he shook his head sharply. "_No, they don't_."

I lower my eyes from his and I breathe out slowly. "_I have tried to stop the progression, but I only managed to slow it down_," I admit to him.

"_I know," _he says, making me look him in the yes again. "_I could feel it." _

I look back at the door again and then at Andres sharply. "_You will not hold me as a hostage,_" I order to him.

Andres merely smiles at my tone of voice like I was a whiny child and he shakes his head. "_You are no hostage to me_," he says with lightness in his voice. _"You will be my personal nurse,"_ he states.

I open my mouth to argue but the guard comes back in, to escort me out of the small house and onto a large truck outside the door. People point and stare at me and I duck my head. I could no longer help them if I was away. No one could. I sit down on the seat and tuck my feet underneath me in silence.

* * *

><p>"- a simple mission," Batman said, his hands behind his back in clenched fists.<p>

Robin stared at the ground like the others next to him.

"- started a bomb, a fire, caused several injuries to civilians in the area, and you cause damage to the structure of the mountain the people work in every day-" Batman said on and on with his lecture at the team with a tight mouth and jaw.

Robin felt like he could sink into the ground and die, and Batman would still rage on without notice. They had been standing there in the same spot since they had gotten off the Bio-ship with Batman waiting with an aura that could kill. He had immediately made them stand in a line and had started lecturing from that point onwards.

And he was still lecturing, thirty, forty, fifty, minuets later.

After what seemed a torturous amount of time, Batman released them and let them go back to their rooms in shame and failure. Robin knew he had messed up big time.

He followed his mentor to the Zeta beams silently as his other team mates headed to their own rooms. A yellow light engulfs them both and they enter the Batcave side by side.

"Batman I-" Robin started to say.

Batman walked away swiftly without a backwards glance at his adoptive son and headed to the Batcomputer. He sat down in the leather chair and started typing before Robin could blink. Robin shook himself and walked to the Batcomputer beside Batman, who was now looking through some police scanners in southern Gotham.

"Batman?" he asked nervously. He knew Batman was mad at him, but today was just not working out for him and he needed to do something.

Batman ignored him, and kept typing on the computer in front of him. Robin turned from his mentor, knowing he wasn't going to get anywhere with an unresponsive Bat. "You should have done better," Batman said from behind him, making Robin turn round in surprise.

Robin looked at the back of the leather chair with downcast eyes. He had known that of course, he could have done so much more. He could have saved the girl he had been looking for, for the last six months for starters. She was probably far off the grid now, terrified that they would find her or Andres was hunting her down trying to get information on her. He could have….. he sighed. Could have, should have, would have, it all didn't matter now. She was gone, and the mission was a failure.

"I know," Robin stated to the back of Batman's head. Then without another word, he made his way to the stone steps that led to the grandfather clock in the living room. Batman didn't say anything as Robin walked away, and Robin knew it was going to be an awkward dinner tonight.

* * *

><p>I was lead into a large circular room with tall windows and hard oak floors. A large seven set sofa sat near the corner of the vast room while a desk, bookshelf, vanity mirror and other objects littered the room in strategic places. There were several doors from the room I now stood in with Body guards on either side of me. In the middle of the floor of the room where three duffle bags; the only things I owned.<p>

"_Your room_," One of the bigger body guard tells me in accented Spanish.

"_We are told to stay outside the door. If you need help, call us_," the other beside me says much nicer than the first. I cast him a quick glance and nod once. Yea, body guards for servants, because that happened every day. I was a prisoner and I knew it. Why? Well I had an idea; I just hoped I was wrong. Really wrong.

The body guards back out of the room slowly and I step forwards into the large room with crossed arms over my chest. Prisoner with a façade of riches. Wonderful. Why did this feel like some sort of rerun?

With a glance back at the door behind me, I pick up the three duffle bags and make my way to one of the three doors in the roof. I go to the first one to the right and see it's a large study. I go to the next one and see it's a large study with more books and a small mini kitchen. I roll my eyes and head to the last door.

I step in and see a large king sized bed with large, fluffy pillows that I know will feel like heaven after six months of thin mattresses and hard floors. There was a nightstand, a desk in the corner, a large material screen for dressing behind with a wooden chest next to it. On the opposite side of the bed hung from the wall was a huge 42 inch TV with speakers that connected to the bed and the corners of the room.

Okay, so I give him points for style. But I was still angry that I was locked in with security guards outside the door.

I drop my duffle bag and look for an internet connection somewhere. Maybe I could just … what? email for help? I sigh, knowing that there really would be no one outside that could save me. I had severed all connections I ever had to anyone and after leaving America, and I doubted anyone would fly out here and risk dying to come and save me.

I shake my head to myself and instead search the room for anything useful to help me get by the guards or get out of the house. Anything would have been useful, but all I find is a large walk in closet and another door that led into a small bathroom with another vanity mirror that reached ceiling to floor.

Next, I look for hidden cameras or sound devices, and guess what? I find two of each.

That ass.

I crush the bugs under my thin shoe and place my duffle bags on the big bed beside me. I open each of them and pull out a pair of pajamas. They were thin, but they covered my skin from the bottom of my neck to the tips of my toes. I push the bag away and walk into the bathroom and grimace when all I see is a toilet and the huge mirror.

I leave the bathroom and head to the other one across the huge living room in 'my bedroom'. I flip on the lights and my eyes widen. After six months of getting a shower maybe every two weeks from a cold bucket or outside water system, this was heaven in a room to me.

The 'shower' was a huge square with a layout bathtub beneath it as big as a small pool and glass surrounding it. There was a large panel in the shower with different silver buttons in it. Stepping out of my clothes and into the shower, I randomly press the buttons and switches there and wait to see what happened. Hot water gushes out of the ceiling and from the sides of the bathtub. Bubbles start sprouting on the surface of the water and Spanish music starts playing in the background of the room, making the rushing of the water seem to sound like rain around me. I collapse into the water around me and scrub the dirt from my skin, hair and nails, washing away the last six months of bad living from myself. After the room had long since steamed itself and the song had changed several times, I step out of the shower and switch all the flips backwards, stopping all the gadgets and draining the water.

I pull a towel around myself and rub the water from my skin. I drop the towel on the floor and put on my pajamas afterwards and look in the long mirror near the 'bathtub'.

My green eyes look red around the rims, like I had cried recently. My brown hair is longer than the last time I had seen my reflection, and my cheek bones more prominent like I had lost weight. My muscles were more defined on my shoulders and arms than six months ago from the manual labor I had been doing to make a bit of money across the countries. I notice the loss of color in my lips and the small lines on my face that hadn't been their six months ago. Life hadn't been nice recently, but looking at my reflection suddenly made me realize just how far down I really was.

I hadn't been taking care of myself and the evidence was clear on my face and body to me. I think back to when Robin had recognized me and I furrow my eyebrows together in slight confusion. How had he even recognized me? _I _barely recognized me.

I sit down on the tile floor and close my eyes while sinking into myself. My subconscious curls around hesitantly, not used to being in the body of myself. Complete and total strangers, I could do just fine. Myself, yeaaaaa not so much. I turn my subconscious to my blood stream and my muscles. I check the normal vitals of a healthy person and realize with a faint start, that I was behind in vitamins, water, sleep and solid foods. My body was close to a total shut down from exhaustion. Like, a needed emergency hospital stay, kind of shut down.

I open my eyes slowly and gingerly pick myself up from the ground. Seeing myself now in literally a third person view, I could see that I needed to rest. Bed rest for a week would have been my conclusion for any other patient, but for me, just tonight would have to do. Tomorrow, I was going to have a talk with Andres Alarico and escape, no matter what.

* * *

><p>Dick Grayson sat on his bed, staring at the wall. Bruce had left for patrol nearly twenty minuets ago and he had indifferently told Dick that he wasn't going to come today. Dick knew Bruce was <em>really<em> mad now. He never punished Dick with no patrol, but when he did, Dick knew that Bruce meant business and wasn't going to just let him off with a couple of crappy chores.

They were going to have a couple of tense and awkward days ahead of them and Dick knew it. He set his head down on his hands supported by his elbows on his knees. Today, was just getting worse and worse.

Suddenly from the trick communicator in his closet, he heard a small beeping sound. If he had been wearing his Robin costume, it would have gone directly to his holograph arm piece. But considering he was on 'groundation' for whoever knew how long… the message was coming in to a spare compact holo-computer in his closet. Dick got up quickly and opened the flashing metal square in the corner of a shelf of his closet. He pressed the middle of the square twice and the image of Blue Beetle popped onto the screen.

"Robin," he stated in confirmation.

"Blue Beetle," Dick said nodding slightly. Only a few people in the League knew his secret identity. Blue Beetle was one of them.

"Got the latest location of her," he said pulling up a second screen in front of Dick's face.

Dick sighed outwardly. "It's okay Ted, I already know it. And by now, she's probably half way out of Bolivia by now."

Blue Beetle looked mildly annoyed. "Fine then," he said with a puff. He closed the connection before Dick could say anything else and Dick put the communicator back in the closet carefully.

So much for that. He had been hoping silently that Blue Beetle had followed her from the small town, but he knew from the expression on his face when Beetle first came on that he hadn't. He was only there to give him bad news.

With another sigh, Dick went back to his bed and crawled into his covers. His head hit the pillow beneath him and he stared at the ceiling. Time passed, and he knew it was going to be like this for a while. After all, on usual days Dick didn't go to bed until two or three in the morning. So instead, he let his mind wander on his last mission, on Batman and his disappointed reaction, and on Zatanna.

Emotions had run high lately between them, but recently, he had been thinking about her less and less. The curve of her smile wasn't haunting his memory with every girl he met and he didn't see her face in random strangers now. She was starting to fade, and Dick was confused. Things had been good between them. What was wrong? There some-what relationship wasn't as dangerous as Wally and Artemis's, nor as rocky as Conner's and Megan's who were both starting to separate themselves.

Dick had to admit it to himself about Zatanna. Their relationship was ... just there. Never really in the light, but never swept under the rug as well.

But now? It seemed like it was barely there at all.

Like when the bomb went off. Sure he was concerned for her to see if she had gotten hurt, but the heart wrenching fear was gone. Like, she was just a teammate. A friend. …But, then again, it had been a tense full situation. He might have just been imagining it. Surely he still cared for her like he always did.

Right?

But thinking back to the bomb made his brain tickle. His feelings were… confusing at the moment and all he could afford to think about was the facts. Stick to the facts.

He had directed them out of the blast, just barely. And then, he had seen her. Jezebelle. The girl he had been re-researching and trying to find across the globe for. Just standing there in front of him like she had expected him to find her. Looking thinner than thought possible, but otherwise unhurt.

And then, helping his team to get away and heal Megan. Smart enough to figure out three of their secret identities. Brave, or stupid enough to let them go and handle the people after them.

Was she okay? Did she get away?

Dick thought back to the way he had seen her fight back in the cage fight six months ago and sighed to himself. Yea, she had gotten away. There was no way she would have let anyone hold her down. She was probably out of the country and setting up a new identity for herself. She was just that kind of person, or so he had seen so far.

But where did she go? He felt his eyes close a little and he glanced at the night clock close to him. 1:24 in the morning. He stared back up at the ceiling above him and his eyes closed slightly.

If she was gone, it was going to be a nightmare to re-find her again and he nearly groaned at the thought. She was sure to make it a living hell for the next person to locate where she was.

His eyes slid farther downwards and he sighed again. Should he even try to find her? She might know three identities, but he highly doubted she was telling anyone. She had saved their backsides _twice_. There would be no purpose for her to go around and betray them like that. No, he was sure she wasn't going to tell a soul.

Dick closed his eyes and he felt his consciousness fade away.

If she really was gone away, he wondered what she was doing right now…

* * *

><p>Blue Beetle was having an off day.<p>

He had been given his assignments and he had worked nearly effortlessly to finish them for his work deadline. Life had been pretty easy between his day job and working on the side for the League. Being a genius just kind of had that effect on life in general… but ever since this girl, this _Jezebelle _character came into his life, well, it hadn't been the same. Not at all the same in fact.

Now with all the other things he had to do, he had to keep track of this girl. Oh sure, he could have denied the mission for them to track and keep an eye on her, but his curiosity had gotten the better of him. _Three _of the most respected heroes had asked him to do the same thing. And they wanted the side mission to be a secret, from everyone. Now, he wasn't very close with anyone in the League except for Booster Gold, but he knew that the two of the heroes that had contacted him were supposed to be closer than intertwined spaghetti noodles. So, why the secrecy? What was with this girl that had all three of them so intent of finding her? Who was she?

So no, he couldn't pass up the opportunity to see what was going on. He did what they asked him to and he tracked her down. Threw every single city. And every single country.

The problem with this assignment was that _she kept moving_. After he would receive intel that his messengers had gotten their evidence on her there or a satellite picture would show up, she would move on to a new city or even country and then leave no track of her _anywhere_. With every city she moved to, she would leave no trace of herself for longer and longer periods of time. She was beginning to be a master at hiding her tracks and covering her location from anything and anyone who could identify her.

Even he himself had had trouble finding her, and after a while he had even begun to think he would never find her.

And then, the explosion. The information about the valuable metal, the wanted workers for in the mines. Adding it all together, the location fixed itself in his mind following the girl's pattern of disappearing and then showing up again. She would be there, he was sure. So just in case, he did some background work for the small city in Bolivia.

And then he called Black Canary.

"Canary," he nodded to the holographic image of the blonde in front of him.

Black Canary nodded back. "Blue Beetle."

"I have-" he announced almost proud of himself. It really had been hard to find her this time and he felt that a little pride couldn't hurt.

Canary popped his bubble. "I already know where she is," she deadpanned. Her eyes flicked to the left of her like she was doing something else at that moment in time and then she stared back at him. "Keep up the work. I doubt she'll be there long, if now, at all," she said. Then with her eyes flickering away again, she abruptly turned off the connection.

Beetle sat back in his chair astonished. Already found? Without him? Was he losing his touch? He let his eyes wander across the keys of his keyboard and suddenly he sat upright.

He had to contact the second hero as promised beforehand. Batman.

He set up a connection and let the connection travel for a few seconds. Batman's cowled face popped upwards before Blue Beetle.

He opened his mouth about his newly found information.

But like Canary, Batman interrupted him. "I know where she is," he stated calmly.

Blue Beetle shut his mouth with a snap. Of course he did. If Black Canary knew, then that must have meant that Batman knew too. Somehow…

"Well then, I'll contact you when I find out where she is next then, like always," Beetle said, his teeth almost grinding in annoyance.

Batman gave him a cold stare from his whited out eyes. "I hope I don't have to remind you to keep this between ourselves. This assignment is strictly off the books," he said in his usual growl.

Beetle nodded once. "Until then," he said. Then without another word, he disconnected from the connection with Batman.

He sat back in his chair once again and stared at his computer. Since when had Black Canary gotten information before he could find it? Batman, well… Batman had his times when he could find things _twice_ as fast as him, so it really was no surprise that Batman knew where the girl was, but how did Canary do it? She wasn't very tech-savy, like, at all.

His teeth ground against each other in confusion and annoyance. Getting shown up didn't feel good, not good at all especially after he had actually _worked_ _hard_ to find this girl. But no! she had already been-

Suddenly remembering the last person he was supposed to contact and he connected himself with Robin. No sooner than a few seconds later, he had hung up the connection again.

UNBELIEVABLE! He had been shown up three times today!

_THREE! _He stood up from the computer and stalked to the window in his workroom. Fine, if this was how it was going to be, the next time he got information on her, he wasn't going to do this there way. He was going to do it his way. Crossing his arms over his chest in satisfaction, he grinned happily as he looked out of the city from the window.

* * *

><p>I woke up the next morning before the sun rose. After weeks and weeks of rising before darkness left, it was starting to become a hard habit to brake. And luckily for me, it was a time when the house was quite and I could think of a plan to get away. No doubt there would be guards outside my door, but after last night, I wasn't in a hurry to leave exactly. After last night, I was… curious as to what was going to happen to me. Not curious enough to stay and find out for myself, but curious enough to think back at my actions and predicament in front of me.<p>

After my shower and getting into bed, there had been a soft knock at the door. I had closed my eyes immediately and kept my breath at a normal distance. I then slid one foot out of the bed unnoticeably and hooked my left arms behind the covers so it would be easy to push away. I was going to make a run for it, in pajamas or not.

I left one eye slightly open and my ears on high alert. I knew if I was going to do this, it had to be fast, swift and unpredictable to shock my opponent, whoever it may be.

The bedroom door opened and yellow light from the next room over spilled onto a short figure with a shiny tray in its hands. A girl, no doubt with the long curling shadows of her hair. The woman pushed the door open further and looked at me with a shadowed face. Instead of coming closer to me like I had expected her to, she set the tray in her hands on the table at the foot of the bed.

Realizing my chance was going to fade away when she left, I jumped out of bed in a flash and ran at the woman. Her hands came up like she was expecting me to hit her, but I only stepped around her and made my way to the open door in the front foyer of 'my bedroom'. I didn't turn around to look at her, but I felt her eyes on me as I ran.

I sprinted to the front door and jumped out into the hallway. The two burly guards at the front of the door widened their eyes at the sight of me. Taking their surprise to my advantage, I turned on my heel and sprinted in the other direction and away from them. Heavy footsteps and yelled words reached me, but I only ran faster and faster away from them. I turned down corners and down stairs, leading me to more unknown hallways and corners.

My breathing was starting to come in heavy gasps, and my legs were starting to feel like lead. Last night's healing and this morning's activities were starting to really take a tole on me and I knew it. I rounded another corner and stopped dead.

Andres Alarico stood in front of me with his 50,000 dollar suit pressed firmly down and hair slicked back like he hadn't almost been blown to pieces today. His eyes fell on me and he turned to me with a stiff jerk. He looked me up and down and I just stood in front of him like an idiot.

"_You wear night clothes, yet you look like you are trying to go outside. Are you going for a night walk? I would suggest something thicker next time or else you'll freeze," _he says calmly even though I know that he knows I was trying to run way.

"_the guards wouldn't let me out,"_ I back lamely.

Andres gives me a withering look. "_Did you ask?"_ he asks plainly.

I shake my head despite myself and Andres blinks in response.

"_They're standing outside my door and trapping me inside the room_," I say in my defense loudly. The look he was giving me made me think he was almost disappointed in me, and it was pushing me off my game.

"_It is 'your' room and they are not trapping you, they are only doing as I asked and that is to show you around so that if you need to go somewhere like taking a walk outside, they would be able to help you," _he states back calmly at ease. He looks around the room we're in_. "If you haven't noticed, the house is quite large and it is easy to get lost in. The guards are only there to help you around until you can find your own way around,"_ he says.

I blink in response. This was certainly not the way I had expected him to react against me. He was almost, sincere in what he said…

"_I will leave when I want to and you will tell me why you are keeping me here. There are other people out of here that need my help_," I say snapping myself out of my revere.

Andres looks behind me and I follow his eyes. My guards have arrived.

"_Tomorrow_," he says in a promise to me.

The guards turn me away from him to lead to my room, but before they do I stare Andres in the eyes. "_I'll remember that_," I promise back. Then turning my back on him with guards flanking me, I memorize the halls I pass through and head back to my room in silence.

So tomorrow, which is now today.

Catching back up to the present, I wait in my room. Running away was always an option, but I could at any point. But, unlike the village, I had no idea how to get out and running through random halls didn't seem to work out the first time.

I needed to learn the ways of the house and what was outside of it. For now, I had to play along so I could plan my escape. And after I was out, I was going to disappear, and disappear for good. The young justice team showing up only reminded me of the past that was haunting me every day. It was time for me to just go off the grid for once and for all.

A knock sounded on the bedroom door and I sit up in my bed. "_Come in_," I call out.

A short woman with curly brown hair reaching her waist steps in to the room. She has tan skin and lines in her face that suggests she's in her late thirties. She nods to me and sets down a long green sun dress at the foot of my bed. "_Breakfast is in thirty minuets and you will be dining with Sir Alarico_," the women says to me. She avoids my eyes and I tip my head at her. She was the woman from last night. The one I had scared.

"_Sorry for last night_," I tell her sheepishly.

Her eyes glance upwards at me and she stares for a moment as if she was judging me. Then, she smiles and nods at the bathroom out of my bedroom. _"I will draw a bath for you. I will come in and get you_," she says softly to me.

I nod, surprised at her reaction and she leaves the room with a smile of her face.

Twenty minuets later, I am out of the shower and I am wearing the green dress that the woman who I had learned was named Karina, had set out for me. The dress reached my knees and was long sleeved. It curved at my color bones and covered my entire back. It was actually really comfortable and I was surprised to say that I enjoyed walking in it. I hadn't worn a dress since homecoming….

I snatch my thoughts away from my old life and I let Karina twist my hair on top of my head.

When we're done, I walk to the front of my bedroom door leading out into the outside hallway. Karina steps in behind me and I swallow nervously.

"Okay," I say in English. "Let's get this over with."

* * *

><p><strong>And the plot thickens... :)<strong>

**So, sorry about the delay again. I'm working on another FF "GENDER SWITCHED" and i was seriously writer blocked on this story. Not to mention super busy with musical practice and homework. UGH, schools a pain.**

**Anyways, you know how it works by now, :)**

**Review and just get it over with, cause i kow you want to**

**~missmusicluver**


	17. Chapter 17

**Sorry for the wait! Been super busy with the musical I'm in. I've seriously had no time to write. It's been school, homework, musical, eat,bed. Like no joke. **

**Anyways, here you go!**

**Disclaimer: nope, I own nothing. Except for my character. **

**ENJOY!**

* * *

><p>I am lead to a large dining room with a long table set and rows of chairs. There is no one sitting in the vacant seats except for one man at the end. Andres Alarico.<p>

His eyes do not look up as Karina leads me into the room and around the empty chairs. I follow behind her with clenched hands behind my back. My plan for escape was getting harder and harder with every passing minuet. I _still _hadn't found the exit from this place.

Karina stops beside the chair directly besides the eating man and indicates at the empty chair beside him. I get the gist and sit down quietly in the plush chair. Andres still hadn't looked upwards from his food.

"You are late," he states to me in English.

I say nothing in return, but stare at the empty plate in front of me; the only other placement set on the table.

A lone nerve twitches in his jaw, but still I say nothing. "For the benefit of our future reference," he starts slowly, "you will arrive to breakfast on time." His eyes still watch his food and never once leave it towards me.

I glare at the side of his head as he stabs the scrambled eggs on his plate. Already expecting me to do things for him. "You will release me," I say with a quiet firmness.

His jaw stops moving and he swallows the food in his mouth silently. He picks up a napkin on the table and wipes the corners of his mouth with a slow hand. With an almost slow exaggeration, he turned to me and his cold eyes trapped mine in his gaze. I think my heart stopped.

"You would do well to remember who is sheltering you," his voice tells me slowly.

My own anger boils under my skin as his level gaze dares me to say something back. Unfortunately, my anger usually wins out my thoughts these days. "You would do well to remember I'm not your damn property!" I spit out at him.

His eyes seems to throw icicles into my soul and my stomach clenches uncomfortably. "Have I not helped you?" he asks me with a new found diplomatic tone. "Have I not given you a room, a bed and food to eat while you are here at my stay? Is it really so hard to ask for you to simply arrive here on time in exchange for my generosity?"

His eyes bore into mine with a chilling promise. He was playing with words, and he was good at it. This could go downhill for me if I didn't act, and I didn't act _now_.

Well, he wasn't the only one who could play with words. Although, looking at his starting move, he probably had twenty years of experience on me… ah crap.

I force my voice to remain soft. "Gifts that I had never asked for to begin with," I answer carefully. "Comforts and pleasantries that that would never have been given if I had not been removed from my original stay."

Andres grins at the corners of his mouth. He knew we were now playing a game of words. Something, I was starting to realize, I was probably hopelessly behind in compared to the man beside me. His cold eyes light up with a chilling cheer at my retort. "But with a talent such as yours it would have been a sorry waste to leave you to your own ways of training," he says with a small dip of his head.

I glare at him coolly. "What would you know of my gift?" I ask, knowing I was stepping into a conversational trap.

Andres leans forwards on the table with a calm exterior. "More than your willing to realize," he answers plainly.

My gaze turns into another glare, but Andres seems to take no notice of it. "Release me," I order, putting anger in every syllable and clenching my fists in my lap.

Andres turns to me with cold eyes. "No," he says softly. "I can't."

My anger flares. "You can and you will," I say hotly. "You took me at of no notice of my own feelings and you demand to keep me here without a word or will!" I say rising to my feet. "You expect me to sit back and let you rule over me while you make your moves behind a closed curtain!" I pause, but Andres doesn't make a move towards me. "What do you even want with me? I'm just a runaway from the states, trying to make a new life away from it all." I shake my head in clear confusion.

Andres turns to me, his breakfast apparently forgotten. Still standing, I loom over the man still sitting in the chair, but when I see the look in his eyes, it makes me feel like I'm the one he's standing over. "I know your background," he states. "I've seen your records, I know what happened."

My blood turns cold.

_Oh no. Don't mention it. Don't bring it up. Leave her out of this…_

But of course, my luck is never on my side. "Is it a coincidence that you left the states a week and a half after your sister Miranda Keating died?" he asked, totally devoid of emotion.

A chill far colder than Andres's eyes entered my heart. Her name…

I meet his eyes and there is no feeling in my soul. Just blankness. "It is no coincidence Andres. She died, I left. End of story." I realize from a small corner of my mind that this had been the first time I had called the man in front of me by his first name, and out loud at that.

Andres takes no notice. "You left and you now have nothing to go back to," he states, obviously setting me up for something.

My eyebrows furrow together. "That's not true, I could-" but before I finish my sentence, I snap my mouth shut. Why was I still talking to this guy? Just get a move on and leave.

Andres knocks one eyebrow upwards. It was almost comical on the serious features of the man. "But you haven't returned after your mourning have you?" he says. "You have chosen to hide away from the world. Moving from one city to the next, never staying anywhere for long."

Okay, so he did his homework on me. Whoop de do.

"Yea, well that's only because-" I say.

"You're not using your gifts to their true potential," Andres interrupts. "You couldn't save your sister, so you left and tried to help others with your ability. But have you ever considered what you could do if you had a true teacher to show you how to use your abilities? The things you could accomplish?" he asked his eyes never leaving mine. The question burrows itself into my mind and spreads like a disease. "But that's not all. You kept moving because it's not only me that knows of your gifts and someone is searching for you," he says with no self-doubt.

My mind twisted in his pause. Hang on a second, how did he know all this? He couldn't have seriously looked that all up on me. My records…. Miranda…. How did he know all of this? My little stalkers had trouble finding me, how the hell did this guy manage to…

Andres moves forwards as if my head isn't totally spinning like the earth on its axis and I drop my eyes from him trying to finish downloading my thoughts. "And then apart from your ability, there is the rumor that you can not only help people, but disarm them and potentially maim them in dangerous ways… Red Butterfly." He says slowly.

My head snaps up and I stare into s eyes. "Don't ever… ever, call me that," I say in stone. My head spins even faster. Damn, what else did he know?

His gaze doesn't waver. "You're trying to build a life for yourself you say, but when in reality, you're running away from your beginning."

I narrow my eyes. What beginning? Just what in all things Batman was he talking about? …Wait, why the hell was I still here? Where's that damn door?

I snap my jaw shut and turn on my heel. "I'm leaving," I state. I reach the door and I put my hand on the door handle with an angry twist.

"I can help you," his voice carries out to me from behind. "I can help you start your new beginning away from your history."

I stop in my tracks and I stare unblinking at the wooden door in my hands. Just turn it and leave. Turn it and leave.

I hear a wooden chair scrape across granite tile and I know Andres had stood up from his chair. He was probably staring at the front of my back right about now.

I feel my heartbeat in my hands. "I don't want anything from you," I say opening the door now. Come on, just start running and never look back.

"You may not, but you need it," he replies heavily, stopping me for the second time.

I turn slowly around and stare into Andres's waiting eyes. He stood next to the table with hands in his pockets, completely at ease. "What do I need?" I ask raising a sarcastic eyebrow. "Help from you? The weapons cartel lord of South America?" I ask, not stopping the sour scorn in my voice.

Andres levels his gaze at me. "You'll need much more than that," he answers coolly. "You'd need a new identity, money, training, contacts and weapons."

My eyes widen for a moment, but I narrow them again in suspicion. "I know that. Unfortunately, I can't just waltz into a new name and identity with people to trust," I say grimly.

Andres turns a small corner of his mouth upwards in a grin. "You wouldn't trust anyone anyways," he comments.

This time I level my gaze at his icily amused eyes and nod once. "You're right," I say and then turn to the door once more, determined to leave this time. Psh, with my luck? Yea right.

"But I can help you." His voice rings out a knowing calculation like this was what he was planning to say all along. And for a moment, I'm tempted. With the power he held, he definitely could help me. He could make me a powerful- … I jam my thoughts close in a second. He would most likely have a price for something like that. They always had a price.

I don't even turn around. "Help? From you? No thanks." I step forwards out of the doorway and Andres speaks again, stopping me for the fourth time. God I just needed to get out of here!

"You can't get far in this world without power and money," he monotones behind me like it was the absolute truth. He's right though, and I had seen enough of the world to know it. "If you're going to become your own person away from your past, you are going to need my help and we both know that."

I stare at the empty air in front of me crossed in between paths. He was offering his help to me. One of the most powerful men in the southern hemisphere was offering to help me out. I turn around slowly and regard the man behind me with stiff and untrusting eyes. "You're willing to help me," my question came out more as a statement.

Andres shook his head. "I'm willing to make a business proposal," he announced. His hands were back in his pockets and he turned to the glass windows beside the table as if observing the view beyond the thick pane.

My eyes narrow again in suspicion again subconsciously. "A business proposal?" I ask repeating him.

His eyes look back at me. "A business proposal," he nods once in confirmation.

_RUN!_ A voice in the back of my head warns me. If I continued this now, there was an almost guarantee I wouldn't walk out of this with my plan for escape still intact.

Just like every other bad thing happen in my life, I blame my curiosity.

"Well, what is your proposal?" I ask simply awkward.

I swear I see Andres grin, but the smirk is gone before I can blink. "I help you, and you in return would help me," he says in an even tone.

I swallow. "What kind of help?" I ask still cautious.

Andres sweeps out a hand to the dining room table. "Let's talk while you eat. You must be hungry," he says back to his diplomatic voice.

I hesitate by the door for a moment, and then nod. He was at least right about that. I _was_ hungry. I walk to the dining room table and sit in the chair I had once left. Andres settles into his chair and pushes his own unfinished breakfast away. "_Karina!"_ he yells to the empty room. "_Breakfast for the young lady!"_ his voice echoes.

Not a minuet later, Karina comes in with a steaming plate of hot food on a silver tray. Pancakes, bacon, muffins, toast, and eggs. Food from God after six months of living off the cheapest things I could get my hands on which usually consisted of a diet on mint leaves. She sets the plate down in front of me and I look up to Andres. He nods once and I dig in to my food.

Minuets pass and we sit in silence as I eat. Then from the comfortable silence, Andres begins his proposal beginning statement. "You are one of the few people who are aware of my condition," he starts off, reminding me that the formidable man next to me had cancer. "I understand that at the rate of my disease, I will be dead in six months."

I look up from the food and I see no fear in his eyes, only a grim acceptance. I swallow slowly. This was a man who had seen death one to many times and had grown used to the idea of never waking up again.

"In the time I had left, I want to manage the rest of my life and my money to the people around me," he continues on. His eyes meet mine. " I am willing to help you gain contacts, money, training; anything you would ever need in exchange for your help to set back my condition for as long as humanly possible."

The words sink in and a small pause carries a rift between us. "Anything I would ever need …." I say repeating him. "That's a lot to give one person just for making them live a little longer," I say almost to myself.

Andres's face remains unconcerned. "I believe it's the right amount of payment for the one person who is saving the empire I have worked to build since I was a teenager," he answers plainly. "My main concern is to get my affairs in order and put a successor in my place before I die."

I thought over his words carefully. "And you need my help to do that," I state.

Andres nods. "Your payment would be knowledge and of course a place to stay and eat. And by the time I pass on, you will have enough knowledge to avoid detection and make a life for yourself away from what you're running from," he says making more and more sense to me with every word.

I stare down at my food and let another silence hang over us like a giant elephant. Unmoving and crushing the lingering air in my body. He was right of course; he had the power to help me. I had to make a decision.

I had been moving on the fly. I hadn't made any future plans, just moving when I felt threatened. The future hadn't even crossed my mind in the past six months. And here he was offering it all to me on a golden platter. Money, power, resources … it sounded almost too good to be true.

"There has to be a catch in this somewhere," I say looking at him with a tip of my head. "That's too much to give someone; even if it did mean making you live a few more months longer," I say. "You're going to want more than a couple of healing sessions in exchange for giving me a new life."

Andres regards me for a moment, his expression blank. "I want nothing more than to live a few more months longer than my destiny is planned to give me," he states in rock. "Although, could you live with yourself?" he asks now narrowing his eyes at me in return. "Could you live with helping a 'weapons cartel lord' as you say, to hand off his empire on the shoulders of another? Could you live with yourself for helping a hand in that?"

I'm silent for a moment, knowing full well that this was a logical question. Could I live with myself, knowing that I would be helping a new generation of over lords come into power? Could I live the rest of my life knowing than innocent people were probably dying because of my assistance for the wrong side?

"No," I answer, shaking my head and meeting his cold eyes with naked honesty. "No, I couldn't and I wouldn't. It would kill me eventually if I had known I had done something like that."

Andres doesn't make a sound, but he stares at me as if sizing me up. Suddenly, he nods. "I had hoped you would say that," he says his eyes downcast now at his own food. My jaw drops open. Whaaaa the fug just happened?

His eyes look up towards the ceiling like he was praying. "God gave me this cancer to punish me for the wrongs I have done to the people over the course of my life," he explains to me. Ah crap, he's crazy. "He has given me this punishment to give me a sign that I can have redemption," he says now looking down from the ceiling and back to me. "That is why I have found you," he says.

I nod. "I'm confused."

Andres grins his weird little small grin from the corners of his mouth. "Yes I was too when I first learned I was going to die," he says. "But then, I saw what I had created from my own empire and I didn't see the glory I had once imagined as a child. Instead I saw death and decay and… that… was when I knew I needed to change the way I ruled."

I nod once and then shake my head totally lost. "Yea, still confused."

Andres's expression gave me a look that screamed, 'exasperated'.

"In short, I understood that my cancer was punishment for hurting people over the years of my ambition. When I heard rumors that a young girl could help the sick, I knew you must be a child of god and that you could keep my sickness at rest. At least until I recreated my empire into one that would not hurt the world but instead help it to become better. Only then would I have redemption for my faults and be allowed to enter the Heaven," he says in complete honesty.

I sit back in my chair dumbstruck. No way, no way had I gotten myself entangled in this crap. This was way out of my league when it came to 'things to say in situations like these'. This was just… out there. God child, me? … LOL…. Did we not go over the fact that I couldn't even save my sister with my 'oh so wondrous abilities'? yea, give me a break. Being a healer I could take, but this? Nuh-uh.

"I don't believe in god," I state to him. "So your illusion of being a 'God child' is way farfetched. Nor do I believe that your cancer is punishment for everything bad you've ever done. Hey, it might be Karma, but I doubt the Big Man is after you dude. You're a tiny fish in a big pond in His universe. Trust me, with everything I know, there is probably no such thing as a –"

Andres slams his fist down on the table making me nearly jump out of skin. I really didn't see that coming. His eyes bore into mine with steel lining his irises. "Keep your opinions to yourself about what I may believe in and not," he says in a near growl. "I have told you my reasons and I expect an answer by sun down today. Take my proposal or leave." He stood up abruptly and turned from me in an angry twirl.

Ah crap. I really don't like religion talkings. It usually almost always ends up like this. One person angry, the other dumbfounded. Too bad the person I pissed off might just possibly be living under the same house as me for a while ….. IF I accepted his proposal. Ah crap, who was I kidding?

Wait, what about me leaving? What about my freedom!

"Wait!" I yell at his stormily retreating figure. He stops for a moment and his head turns around. "What about my freedom? I can't just be kept in a cage!"

Andres looks at me and I see his jaw clench. Never a good sign. "There is plenty of room on the house grounds for you to roam on. If I find you trustworthy, you will be allowed to leave for periods of time. Until then, you are not to leave the grounds." His eyes narrow dangerously and I bite down the protests forming on my lips.

Yea, I pissed him off thoroughly.

He leaves and I'm left alone in the room with my twisted thoughts. Yepp, I shouldn't have listened to his proposal. Now, I was actually considering accepting it.

I bite my lower lip. It was an offer that was pounding in my head, controlling my thoughts. The pro's were… life changing. The con's … well, lets be honest, it couldn't get any worse then what I had already been through.

I stand up from the table and walk towards the door Andres had just left. I run out of the room and slide into a tiled hallway. I look to the left and then to the right, both long hallways empty of any living soul. He was already gone.

"Crap," I mutter under my breath.

I turn to the right and I sigh. I hope I'm making the right decision. Superman help me if I'm not…

"_Healer_," I hear Karina's voice behind me. I turn around slowly and nod to the older woman in front of me.

"_Karina, where did Andres go_?" I ask switching over to Spanish.

She shakes her head in her aged turn. "_He is not to be_-"

I interrupt her. "_He went left didn't he?"_ I ask looking into her eyes and she looks in my eyes and then to the bottom left. She was about to lie.

She shakes her head again. "_No, no he left to his room." _

I nod. "_okay thank you_," I say. I turn away from her and sprint down the left hallway. She yells after me, but I ignore her words of protest. I had to find this guy before I changed my mind.

I turn the first corner I go down and I see the back of a gray blue dress shirt. The shirt Andres had been wearing. "Andres!" I yell to the figure.

The body stops and I run to him. He turns around as I get closer to him and he stands stiffly in attention. "Yes?" he asks slowly.

I stop in front of him and suck in a breath. "I accept," I say looking up at him as I place my hands on my knees. "I accept your proposal, but," I say sucking in another breath. "if I don't like where it heads, I want your guarantee that I will be able to leave at any point in time."

Andres looks almost surprised for a moment, but then his face becomes as smooth as stone. "Would you like it in writing?" he asks.

I meet his eyes and nod. Oh holy Batman, I really hoped I knew what I was doing. Now it was gonna be in ink. "Yea, I want it in writing."

Andres nods once and holds out a hand to me. I stand upwards from my bent over position and I stare at his outstretched hand. "We really gonna go through with this?" I ask mostly for my self benefit.

Andres grins his little grin and I take it as a yes. I look at his hand for a moment more and then I put my hand in his in a hand shake.

"Okay," I say. "Lets go get this over with," I say.

* * *

><p>It had been three weeks for Robin. Three weeks since the explosion in Bolivia and the sudden appearance of her face in his mind.<p>

Robin squeezed the bridge between his eyes with his fore fingers. God her face just wouldn't leave! And that had set Zatanna over the edge and away from him. They were definitely not an item. They were… well, he had no idea what they were now. All he knew was that they were both fighting the good fight. Beyond that? There wasn't really anything there anymore.

But he guessed he had it better than Superboy. He and Megan had split, for good too. She was almost in tears every time she saw the half Kryptonian . And Conner was just stony faced where ever he went now a days. It was just… awkward in Mt. Justice. The only people who were currently holding onto a love life was Wally and Artemis. Although they _still_ wouldn't admit it, they were meant for each other.

Robin rubbed the corners of his forehead. "Ugh," he mumbled.

"Ugh is right," Conner said from behind him, walking with hands in his pockets. "I feel like I can't breathe in this place anymore."

Robin scoffed halfheartedly. "Yea, makes me think Batman's right."

Conner stood next to him and tipped his head to the side in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Robin waved a hand like it meant nothing to him. "He says that relationships never work on the team."

Conner nodded and sighed with a shake of his head. "Well it looks like that right about now."

Robin took a closer look at his friend and noticed the dark circles under his eyes for the first time. "You doing okay?" he asked.

Conner glanced at Robin and took a deep breath. "Yea," he sighed out. "Doin great." He looked out at the large screens in front of Robin with a critical eye. "How about you? Still looking for our savior?"

Now it was Robin's turn to sigh out loud. "Ugh, not really a search. More like a want add in a recycling bin."

Conner looked closer at the screens in front of him and deciphered a couple of lines in the constant data stream. "So I take it, you haven't found where she ran off to," Conner states.

Robin shook his head. "Once again, she went off the grid and has stayed off the grid," he said mostly frustrated. A small part of him was a little impressed at how well she was concealing herself from the world. She hadn't popped up _anywhere_ at _all_.

Conner placed his hands in his pockets. "That's gotta be annoying," he said. More data streamed down from the screen in front of him. "Are you even sure she left?" he asked looking away from the screen and towards Robin.

Robin glanced at his friend quickly. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Conner waved his hands to the screens. "Do you even know if she actually left the country? She could be staying there in the same city or somewhere close to it and we wouldn't even know. She could be-"

Suddenly, the screens in front of them flickered away the data and a large image of blue beetle popped up. "Superboy, Robin, get the team together and get to Watchtower. We have a situation, and Robin, we need to have a chat." Then without another word, Blue Beetle popped off the screen and the data came rolling back into the screen.

"I hate it when he does that," Robin mutters.

Conner grinned. "I think you're jealous he can bypass security that fast."

Robin grimaced and threw his teammate a dirty look. "Go call the rest of the team. We leave in five."

Conner's grin turned into a smirk. "Uh huh."

The young justice team stood in front of the original Justice League members with their hands behind their back.

"Team, there was a breach in security three weeks ago," Batman started off. "We are all ware of the circumstances surrounding it, but the breach happened none the less."

Robin nodded, he was expecting something like this to happen at some point. He was just surprised it hadn't happened sooner.

"We would have crossed this line a while ago if other things hadn't interrupted the briefing," Batman continued on. "While you all were sent on various missions throughout the last three weeks, the traces of metal we found in Bolivia were taken suddenly off the grid and hidden away. The metal weapons that we had been following were no longer transporting. At first, we had thought they had been shipping them in an alternate fashion, but after many careful analysis's we found that they were no longer being made at all."

"And that doesn't just happen to a weapons cartel lord," Superman added to Batman's report.

Batman nodded apparently unfazed at the interruption. "Right. Apparently, the mining for the metal is still being done, but the making of the weapons has stopped altogether. Not only that, but the workers seem to be behaving better towards their job; their pay and housing has gone up. Not something Andres Alarico would do lightly."

"So all of that fits together how?" Kid Flash asked from Robin's side.

Robin answered. "It's like his personality has totally changed."

Batman nodded. "We were thinking brain washing or some kind of manipulation behind the curtains of his house."

"But…" Kid Flash said slowly making everyone look over at him. He swallowed aware he was in the lime light. "Isn't this a good thing? If Andres Alarico is being brain washed into doing good things, isn't that a bonus for us?"

Robin answered again. He shook his head. "No. If someone has enough power to brain wash a heavily guarded and powerful man like Andres, it could be a potential threat to all of us if that power decides to switch roles and come after the League."

Batman nodded. "Exactly. Which is why we needed to figure out who this threat was and how we would be able to stop it if it went after the League."

"Could it have been Queen Bee?" Megan asked placing the lime light on her. "Wouldn't she have the power to manipulate someone like Andres Alarico?"

Artemis shook her head. "The theory makes sense, but the motivation doesn't. Bialia was buying those weapons from Bolivia. Stopping all weapon manufacturing in the country wouldn't help her cause for global domination at all. Actually, it probably has set her back a couple of steps."

Megan nodded, aware her theory was wrong.

"So then who was it?" Wally asked looking over to Batman.

Batman's face remained impassive. "The investigation is still being completed."

Robin was confused. "So we don't know yet?" he asked.

Batman nodded. "Affirmative. Although we do know that the person behind Andres's mod change must be close by him at all times to have changed him so much."

"So you're saying this person is _living _with Andres Alarico?" Kid Flash asked.

Batman nodded. "It would seem most likely."

Robin nodded in understanding, but then shook his head in confusion. "But then, why are here?" he asked, letting his fears come to light. "If your figuring out who the person is, why have you called us here?"

Batman glanced at his protégé. "We are here to inform you all of the events in Bolivia and to debrief you all again on the incident down there."

Robin almost groaned.

"But we already told you everything that-" Kid Flash protested.

"That girl knows three of the identities of the League; two of your team and one of the leading members. Until we know for certain she can be trusted, she needs to come in for debriefing as well. We need to know she won't sell out the three identities to the highest bidder for her next plane ticket."

"She has helped our team every time we have crossed paths," Aqualad said. "I do not see the need to make her out as the enemy."

"She may not be the enemy, but until we know for a certain fact that she is not, she can not be trusted," Aquaman told his protégé.

Aqualad nodded. "Of course my king."

Batman looked unperturbed. "Which leads us to the question of where she –"

Suddenly from the right side of Young Justice and the left of the League, a tall holographic screen popped into the air.

"Blue Beetle reporting to Black Canary from 'mission number one'," Blue Beetle popped up on the screen and put air quotations around the ending of his sentence.

Every hero is the room turned to Black Canary with a mixed sense of shock, amusement and irritation at the weird interruption.

"What's mission number one?" Kid Flash whispered to Robin.

Robin shrugged a shoulder. "I don't know, but I think we're about to find out."

Black Canary widened her eyes and then narrowed them dangerously at the blue armored man. "Later," she hissed venomously.

Batman turned to Black Canary with slightly wider than normal eyes. "You were researching Jezebelle Keating?"

Black Canary met Batman's gaze. She threw up her hands as if in defense. "Of course I was! She was left on her own and she could have been … a … threat to the community with her current emotional state and potentially dangerous physical abilities."

Robin looked from the two heroes one after another. What was going on?

Batman didn't seem to buy it. "You didn't-"

Black Canary interrupted him. "I did what I thought was right. And in case I'm missing a rule of some kind, I thought it was okay to do side missions away from the League," she said stiffly. "I had a right to get information on where she was at. And it if wasn't for_ him_," she said pointing to Blue Beetle, "It never would have been a problem."

Batman remained silent.

Blue Beetle seemed unfazed at her infuriated voice. The screen popped away from the right side of the room and popped back up at the left side directly next to Batman.

"Blue Beetle reporting to Batman from mission case 'JK-missing'," he told the black clad man.

Robin almost felt his jaw drop. Him too? Bruce was looking for Jezebel _too?_

The heroes in the room swiveled their heads to the side of the room with the Dark Knight.

Black Canary's eyes widened. "You-"

Batman's eyes were narrowed to slits. "That is a private-"

Blue Beetle interrupted Batman with his holographic image disappearing.

Robin felt his heart sink to his stomach. If Blue Beetle was visiting every person looking for her… he was surely-

The screen image of Blue Beetle popped up between both the Leagues; right in front of Robin. Robin's stomach clenched uncomfortably.

"Blue Beetle reporting to Robin from mission case 'Jezebelle Keating'," he stated to the air and the heroes around Robin. Robin dropped his head.

He felt Megan behind him stifle a gasp. He saw from the corners of his eyes Black Canary looking at him. He saw the heroes around the room look at one another in complete confusion about what was going on. But what he didn't want to face was the mentor in front of him on the other side of the holographic image. The one person he felt like he had betrayed and gone behind his back.

Robin forced his head to come upwards and his eyes immediately fell on his adoptive fathers cowl. Batman's face was smooth and cold. Completely unresponsive.

Robin swallowed hard and looked up at Blue Beetle. "Report," he said. He noticed his voice didn't carry a sense of command but the sound and tone of a child with his hand stuck in the cookie jar. His teeth clenched together. Blue Beetle did this on purpose.

Blue Beetle nodded once. "Black Canary, Batman and Robin. Jezebelle Keating was found today."

"Where?" Black Canary asked.

"In Bolivia."

Robin's eyebrows came together. She didn't leave? He thought back to the last time he saw her. Wait, was she a prisoner?

"Where in Bolivia?" Batman now asked glaring at the screen.

Robin already knew the answer. He didn't know how he knew, because he just did. But the answer wasn't pleasing in the slightest.

"She's living with Andres Alarico," Robin answered before Blue Beetle.

The heroes in the room turned to the youngest hero with raised eyebrows.

"Isn't she?" Robin ignored the stares and asked Blue Beetle.

The heads turned back to Blue Beetle.

The man in the screen nodded. "Yes, yes she is." He looked up from Robin and seemed to address the whole room. "But that was the only information I could gather. She hasn't left the building and the encryptions surrounding every technology based machine is so thick, it would take me weeks to break through it."

Batman took charge. "The start on it. I will contact you later about our agreement for your definition of 'confidentiality.'"

Blue Beetle took the hint and nodded once to the heroes around him in goodbye. Then without a second glance, the image disappeared and all that was left in the room was a thick silence.

Robin swallowed hard again, knowing that stuff was about to go down. He was probably grounded, again.

Superman stepped forwards and broke the silence. "Okay. Explain," he ordered looking at Black Canary, Batman and Robin.

Robin stepped forwards first and started to explain his side of unfortunate events surrounding Jezebelle and her apparent healers touch.

* * *

><p><strong>Yea might have been a little cheesy, but i always like it when the authors add their titles into the novel. So what the hay, why not right?<strong>

**So, Blue Beetle got his little revenge and the truth comes out!**

**Jezebelle and Andres working together say what say what? ... well YEP. **

**Stuff bout to go down. **

**REVIEW! leave me your silly comments and critics.**

**~missmusicluver**

**PS. has anyone seen 'SASSY GAY FRIEND' on you tube? I seriously was falling over laughing after seeing the 'Othello' version because im reading it right now in class. It was hilarious :DD anyways, rant over. **


	18. Chapter 18

Two months had passes since Andres and I had made our 'proposal' official. Like as in, it was on paper so we both knew the boundaries and the risks that were involved. I could only heal him every other day or else his body would build an immunity to my healing powers, trust me I had seen it before and it wasn't pretty. The second person ever I had not been able to save.

And his risk for me was that I could be hurt by one of his enemies goons at any point in time when they found out I was going to be by his side every second of every day. It didn't strike fear into me though, so for me it had been a good agreement and I felt that it was the beginning on a new life.

And it included a new identity, one that would never be traced back to the old me. Jezebelle Keating. I had a new name, a new birthplace, security number, a new background. I was now Jezebelle (keeping the first name because I was named after my grandmother) Morolass. Jezebelle Morolass. Girl who had been born in California, transferred to Mexico when I was eight, a genius in my test scores and assistant to Andres Alarico for the next year and a half after showing exemplary mathematic scores in my old school. Parent died in a car crash. The new me.

My new story, my new life and my new way of living.

Unfortunately, it was more than I had bargained for. Way more.

One week into our partnership, Andres took me outside the house and flew me via helicopter to one of his branching businesses in Mexico. I was flying in a separate helicopter so I could set up his room at the place we were staying for his treatments and to help the natives at the business, another one our 'agreements'. I didn't just help him. I helped anyone and everyone.

As soon as I touched down in Mexico, I was promptly kidnapped.

Fifteen hours of yelling, guns pointed at my face, more yelling in Spanish and then me getting shot in the arm had been the adventure I had lived that day. Of course, sooner than later men order by Andres to get me back rescued me before I died of blood loss. He was furious to see that I had been hurt. No healing for him that day.

Four days after that, when my wound was mostly healed, Andres told me some news that was going to seriously put a dent in my new found freedom. He had hired someone to train me. And not just some poofed up, over glorified, calorie hypocriting crazy with a mean streak. The man I learned to call 'Sir' who reminded me of the image of Batman.

Of course, it wasn't actually Batman, but my new trainer had that aura of power and darkness that could overpower your thickest senses and prick fear into your very heart, just like Batman. Just like Andres… God what was with me?

The man was meant to train me to defend myself. To beat the crap out of anyone who tried to touch me. But that wasn't the end of it either. As being Andres's most important part of life, I was around him _all the time._ And apparently to him, that meant I needed training in mannerisms, food edicate, the art of twisting words, and finally languages. Every night, and every day.

Holy hell.

The sad part is, I thought it wouldn't be that bad. I thought that because of the knowledge I already had in fighting, healing and speaking Spanish; that I would be okay. That it would probably be stressful, but nothing I couldn't manage.

Good God was I wrong.

Sir didn't let up until I couldn't breathe. He would push me farther and farther through punches, rolls, kicks, spins, blocks and stances until I fainted. Which, according to him, I do a lot.

And then still he wouldn't let me leave. It would continue on to push ups, pull ups, flexibility, squats, sprints, rolls and hours of balance techniques. On and on, punch after block, squat after sprint, until Sir saw my hands bleed, my lungs on the verge of falling out and my brain shutting off. Every night.

And during the day, Andres taught me his line of work from across the country or in his oak study. Discussions, reviews of literature I had read, analyses I had made over the certain paperwork he would let me read, language review; all went over day after day. I would watch from the sidelines as he transformed his empire into a reliable business piece by piece, and I watched as little by little, Andres got weaker and weaker.

Seven weeks had passed since the beginning of my training and I felt myself becoming stronger. Seven weeks of three meals a day, continuous exercise and good hygiene had transformed my body. No longer was I painfully thin and under nutritioned. Instead, I stood straighter than ever, hunched only at night when I was left to my own exhausted thoughts. Thoughts that usually led me to dream about Miranda. Miranda sitting, playing, thinking over her homework, dancing in the living room and singing to the tune of a playing piano.

But then she was gone and I was awake again in the business world I had entangled myself in. Gone was the innocent eyes I spent days of dreams staring at and instead was the endless information Andres had me study and the eternal exercises Sir made me do.

For me, it was a cycle now. An endless cycle that started when I woke and ended when I slept. On and on, making me stronger, but never making me forget.

Never have I forgotten.

I ducked and hit the floor in a backwards roll. I slid my feet underneath me and jumped in the air as a fast blade swept the floor under me. "I thought we were working on knives today!" I yell at the built man twirling the long blade in his hand in front of me.

"We have no schedule!" Sir yells back at me. He rests the blade at hip height and levels his eyes at me.

_He's gonna go left that butt-hole_, I thought to myself. Currently, my left ankle was twisted so my spin wasn't as fast as it usually was and by the fighting pattern he set for me, he always went for me weakest point. Thus, my twisted ankle making me slower.

Sir didn't fail to disappoint. He faked right and twisted himself sideways into a sideways dive at my left foot. I swung my left foot behind me just in time and used the momentum to spin to the right. The blade swished past my face and I bent backwards into a bridge kick over. I landed on my feet and Sir widened his feet from each other, returning to his first position of attack.

I waited.

And he attacked.

Block, spin, duck, spin, duck, duck, spin, duck, jump, run- no sprint, duck… yea you get the point.

On and on until I lowered my arms and put my hand on my knees bent over trying to breath. "Break. Sir give me a break. Five minuets, That's all I need I swear."

Sir lowers the one blade and straightens up. "No, Andres needs to see you tonight. He asked me not to exhaust you," he put the blade onto a wall clip and turned back to me. "I hope you found this enlightening to your need of hand to blade combat. Tomorrow we will work on holds and pushes when you are one on one against someone with that."

I nod in acceptance. "Yes Sir." I turn to leave, knowing when we were done, we were _done_; no chit chat no taking my time. He wanted me out. But, I turn back to him and I bite the inside of my lip, something Andres would scold me for. "Sir, why does Andres want to cut training short today?"

Sir turns to look at me slowly. "Ask him yourself." His voice was cold and his eyes dared me to stay.

I bite down on my tongue and nod. Yep, now was the time for me to leave. NOW.

I head out the door with my head ducked down. I pull my hair from the messy bun it was in and let it hang loose down my back. I shake out my hair with one hand and sigh as I go down the east hallways towards Andres's study.

Early release from training… I had never been allowed to leave training early before even when I complained that I was gonna die from exhaustion. When I did complain, (I had learned early on that it didn't work on Andres or Sir), I was reminded that 'training' was part of our agreement and because we had no definite structure of what I was training to become or do, anything was up for grabs. So weapons training, or any training he came up with was fair game and I really couldn't complain about it; damn contract.

I travel to the end of the hallway and turn left. In front of me stood two ten foot wooden oak doors. I knock once and walk in before I hear it's okay for me to come in. "I'm here," I yell into the huge room. A miny library sat to the right of me and a miniature two story landing stood above me with a half kitchen and dining room. Andres pretty much lived here most of the time. "HELLOOOO," I call out to thin air.

"Don't yell," Andres says walking out of the rows of shelves of books. "And it is I am present," he corrects me.

I hide a small smile. "Of course. Andres, I am present."

Andres waves a hand at me. "Yes yes I can see that."

I snort quietly in a half laugh, but Andres catches it and narrows his eyes at me threateningly at me. I smile wide at him and put my hands behind my back in a sugary gesture. "So why was I let out of training early?" I ask.

Andres makes his way to his large wooden desk and sits himself down in his leather chair before answering me. "I have a meeting to plan."

I widen my eyes in question. "And you need my help?"

Andres looks up at me before turning on the thin computer on in front of him. "No. I just need you to be there," he answers.

I blink once in surprise but contain my expression. "Okay. When is it?"

Andres looks up at me with a short look. "In an hour and a half," he states simply.

My mouth drops and my expression breaks into shock. "Where?" I ask thinking about my sweaty and worn appearance in sweats and a tank top.

"Here," he says shortly. "I am going to have a meeting with a few of my business partners and invite a few more for the transformation of the company." My mouth is still open in surprise and I snap it shut when Andres looks up at me from the computer. "You will need to get cleaned up and be ready to be presentable in an hour. Karina will help you. There is a new dress in the closet and shoes by the door. Dress in those and be on time. This is a very important meeting; for the both of us."

"Us?" I ask now thoroughly confused.

Andres looks up at me again and his eyes rest on me with a quiet certainty . "An hour and a half," he said in a stern statement.

I nod and turn away from him, my hair hitting my elbow as I started back to the oak doors. AS I get to the inside of the frame, I turn back around to Andres. "Andres?" I ask tipping my head to one side.

Andres looks up expressionless. "Yes?" he asks staring at me intently.

I bite the inside of my lower lip and Andres narrows his eyes slightly. I stop immediately and place my hands behind my back. "Who have you decided on for your successor? I know you were leaning towards Durick, but I think it would be best to go with Rodriguez."

Andres doesn't look back at his computer but instead holds his eyes at me. "And why is that?" he asks clearly interested in my outburst.

I don't back down though. "Durick has a sketchy background after leaving Panama and his stories don't exactly add up. You want a business leader that has a fresh start and beginning, not one that could have his past follow him and destroy what you've built. And I know that Rodriguez is a little slow when it comes to pattern deals in the states, but I think with enough years in experience he would be perfect for the job."

Andres doesn't look away. "I don't have a couple of years," he states.

I narrow my eyes at him. "You don't know that."

He stares at me, his eyes never leaving mine. "No, we both do."

I look away. "You're right, it is your decision on whoever you want as your successor. I'm just telling you what I observed. I'll meet you in an hour and a half." I turn from Andres and step threw the doorway.

Andres's voice stops me in the middle. "Don't forget Jezebelle. Whatever they say or happens, smile. Don't let them think they have the upper hand. You are powerful, you are strong and you are destined to do great things."

I am tempted to look behind me, to see Andres's face, to see what he is feeling, but instead I nod once and walk away from the oak study with a straight back. What was he saying…

I walk to my room and Karina is already waiting for me with a white fluffy towel. "Jez," she greets me with a nod of her head. _"An hour no more, we have to get you ready. I suggest we start with a wax and then a shower."_

I struggle not to groan, but instead nod once. "Do whatever you need to do. I want to go riding on the horses later, so whatever will make Andres happy, just do it."

Karina ducks her head with a hidden smile that I barely catch and I know what she's thinking. It was something I had been thinking about for the past few weeks.

_Since when did I enjoy starting to stay here?_

* * *

><p>Bruce Wayne tightened his tie and began shuffling papers together on his desk.<p>

"Mr. Wayne, your flight appointment for Andres Alarico's business conference is scheduled to leave in thirty minuets," his assistant reminded him from the overcome phone on the desk.

Bruce placed the latest news on Cadmus Labs into a black briefcase he always carried. "Contact the captain and tell him to warm up the jet. I'll be there shortly," he ordered quickly pressing a silver button on the phone.

"Of course Sir," his assistant said back to him. There was a slight pause before his assistant contacted him again. "Um Mr. Wayne there are two people to see you sir."

Bruce put his cell phone into his pocket and erased his computer history. "I'm busy," he said nonchalantly.

"Yes Sir… but they seem adamant to see you. Should I call security?" he asked. Bruce could imagine the small frown on the man's face.

"…better not call security you over trimmed…" Bruce heard from the background of his assistant's phone.

"What are their names?" Bruce asked although he already recognized the angry voice from the other side. He knew this would happen…

"A Mr. Oliver Queen and a Miss Dinah-"

"Send them in," Bruce ordered in interruption swiftly.

"Yes Sir," his assistant answered.

A few minuets passed and Bruce sat in the black leather chair behind his cherry oak desk. Sooner than later, Oliver opened the door and stepped inside with a nod to Bruce. "Bruce," he said in greeting.

"Oliver," Bruce said in acknowledgment with a nod.

Dinah entered behind her boyfriend and nodded once tensely to Bruce as she stepped in. Yes. She was mad. "Bruce," she said.

"Dinah," he said politely, never leaving the billionaire façade he played every day during daylight. "What brings you here at my office?"

Dinah narrowed her eyes and Oliver stepped away from his girlfriend awkwardly. "Cut the crap Bruce. I know that you have a business conference with Andres Alarico in Bolivia today. I know that the plane for that meeting leaves in thirty minuets and I know that you haven't told the League about this little trip."

Bruce kept his face neutral. "My corporate business has nothing to do with the League, therefor they have no need to know what I do during the day."

"If this was switched the other way around, you would not want to be left in the dark," she answered back.

"So you are here to confront me about leaving without the League's permission?" he asked knowing beforehand that this was going to take a turn he was not comfortable going down. But it was going to be inevitable…

"No," she answered, her voice lowering considerably. "I want to come with you."

Oliver put his hands up in the air like he was going to get scolded. "I told her there was no way that was going to happen."

Bruce turned his gaze to the other billionaire in the room. "I thought you were going to the meeting as well."

Oliver shrugged a shoulder and put down his arms. "I was, but I have other stuff to do today and I can't focus on trying to work my schedule around a guy who is in good hands when you get there."

Bruce still didn't let any expression pass over him. "And your approach to Jezebelle as a potential trainee?" he asked seriously.

Oliver glanced over to Dinah. "Dinah was right. I already have Artemis to train and teach out on the streets. I don't have the time or the energy to take on two partners," he explained. "Besides, I don't think she's interested in handling a bow. So I thought that the best mentor for a hands on girl like Jezebelle would be Dinah."

Bruce remained silent with his own comments but instead switched gazes and looked over at Dinah. "I hope you know that I don't take just any woman on my business trips with me out of state."

Dinah was confused for a moment before a dawning realization spread across her face. "Oh no. Oh hell no," she said shaking her head and taking a step backwards.

"What?" Oliver asked confused at the sudden emotion in the room. He looked at Bruce then at his girlfriend and then back at Bruce until his gaze turned into a glare. "Oh no way," he said out loud. "No way in hell!" he raised his voice.

"There is a spare dress with matching shoes in the plane Dinah. We are going to be there in three days and I'll have someone bring you more clothes when we get there." Bruce took his brief case and extra cell phone and headed towards the door. "We leave in twenty minuets," he called back to Dinah as he opened the door and stepped out of his office.

"The dress better cover my ass Bruce Wayne or so help me god…!" Dinah yelled to the closing office door with narrowed eyes.

Oliver watched the door close and looked down at his girlfriend with a tense jaw. "If he does anything…"

Dinah smiled sarcastically. "I can handle myself Oliver. Trust me nothing is going to happen."

Oliver looked back at the door the Dark Knight had passed through only moments before. "I trust you," he answered calmly, "it's _him_ I can't trust. Especially around beautiful women," he said looking back down at the blonde woman beside him.

Dinah smiled. "I'll be fine. Don't miss me too much when I leave," she joked lightly. She kissed him on the cheek and then left out the office door with a confident back.

Oliver watched as she left with a small grimace. "He better not touch her or so help me…" he wandered off thinking about ways to kill the Greatest Detective on Earth.

* * *

><p>I step into a dark red dress and raise the thin straps over my shoulders. Karina comes up behind me and ties a black matching ribbon under my chest and behind my back. "lo bonita que eres," she says under her breath. <em>How pretty you are<em>.

I don't look up at the mirror in front of me and instead sit down on the tan leather chair in the living room inside my bedroom. "_Do you know who will be there?"_ I ask wrapping my hands together.

Karina combs out my hair and begins to the braid the top of my head with expert fingers. "_I have only heard rumors,"_ she answers.

"_That's more than I have heard_," I say a little bitterly.

Karina pulls my left ear lightly. "_Don't be so harsh on Senor Alarico, Jez. He may have left you out of the planning of the meeting, but he always has a good reason for doing what he does."_

"_So why did he start dealing weapons?"_ I ask letting my held up bitterness flow into my words. _"What good reason did he have for doing that?"_

Karina hits me on the back of my head with the flat of the brush making me wince in pain and try to pull away from her. She pulls me back gently and rebraids the braids that had come undone. "_He has his own reasons for that_," Karina said softly.

"_Do you know_?" I ask widening my eyes at my lap.

Karina doesn't answer and I'm tempted to look behind me and at her hidden expression, but the tug of her hands on my head reminds me she still has the wooden brush in her hand. Probably wouldn't be the smartest thing to do at the moment to piss her off…

"_Of course I know,"_ she says softly again. "_I have known him longer than anyone in the house_."

A sudden thought comes to my mind and I tread carefully on my words. _"Were you and Andres once … a thing?"_ I ask cautiously.

Too late. I feel the flat of the brush hit the back of my head and I cry out in pain from the sudden attack. _"Oh come on! Sir doesn't even hit that hard!"_ I complain.

"_You have never asked about his personal history_," she stated calmly.

"_Well… no, but that's still no reason to give me brain damage!"_

"_You would heal yourself_," she states in an almost bored tone.

I drop my mouth open_. "Yea but that doesn't mean I don't feel it!"_

"_With a power like that comes the responsibility to endure the pain you respond too_," she answers mercilessly.

I cross my hand over my chest and I feel the satin blue material stretch across my back like a warm blanket. "_You still haven't answered my question_," I say.

"_You have no right to ask me about my history_," she answers firmly.

"_No not about that,"_ I say shaking my head_. "I was talking about who's coming today. You said you had heard rumors. Tell me the rumors,"_ I reason.

Karina is quiet and I feel her fingers braiding farther down my back. _"All I know is that a Mr. Lex Luthor and a man named Oliver Queen have been invited to come along with the older members of close partnership of the company."_

I sit silent for a moment. _"Is that all?"_ I ask.

"_That's all I have heard,"_ she answers.

I nod and Karina draws away from my hair_. "Now for your face_," she says.

I widen my eyes and turn around to look at her. _"What do you_-"

Suddenly, Karina had my face between one of her slightly wrinkled hands and I widen my eyes farther. I hold myself back from striking Karina like Sir had taught me to do in a sudden situation and I bite the inside of my lip.

Karina takes out a brush and before I can protest, she applies bronzer to my nose, cheek bones and chin on my face. She pulls my face closer and she puts on a dark blush on my cheeks making my nose tickle. It was funny, after eight months of wearing no makeup at all, the powder was making me want to sneeze after a harsh reintroduction to it.

"_Karina, I can do it-"_

"silencio pequeña mariposa roja_,"_ she says making me freeze and tense up_. Hush little red butterfly._

"_Where did you hear that?" _I ask, not moving as Karina moves towards me with mascara. I grab the hand that comes closer to my face and I feel my eyes narrowing into slits. "_Where did you hear that name_?"

Karina stares wide eyed at me and then down at the hand still wrapped around her fragile wrist. I realize the pressure I have on her bones and I immediately release her with a shamed face.

"Lo siento," I say quietly. _I am sorry._ "_I didn't realize I was holding you so hard_."

"_Does the name bother you?"_ she asks quietly coming closer to me.

I look down at my lap and stay tensed. "Mariposa roja," I say quietly_. Red_ _Butterfly. "It's a part of my history, a part that I want to leave behind."_

Karina is silent and lifts my face up. I meet her eyes, but she doesn't say anything to me; she just puts brushes the mascara carefully onto my eyelashes and blows cautiously to let it dry before I blink. _"There is no better way to start a new part of your life than to look like a new person,_" she says smiling softly. She nods to the vanity mirror behind me and I turn around to see what she means.

My eyes and mouth drop open wide at the figure gracefully looking like an idiot back at me in the reflection. Her green eyes were big and framed by thick black eyelashes, her auburn brown hair was braided at the top her head to look like a head band and the continuation of the braid dropped down to her back, making her hair look longer than it really was and frame her face perfectly. Her cheek bones were high on her face and her mouth looked full and … kissable.

I was pretty sure I hadn't even looked this good in my junior homecoming dance.

"Wow," I mummer in English.

"Al igual que una hermosa mariposa," Karina says beside my ear looking at me in the mirror as well. _Just like a beautiful butterfly._

I don't tense this time and I let her words wash over me. _"You did an amazing job_," I compliment her.

Karina looks at a thin watch on her wrist and sighs quietly. _"And just in time too. You should be there in ten minuets_."

I got up quickly and the knee length red dress flows with my movements, making me seem graceful with the smallest of movements. As graceful as a butterfly… red dress… I got why she called me that and I smiled lightly as Karina.

"Wish me luck," I say in English.

Karina smiles. "Luck," she says in an accent. She passes me black flats and I slide them on carefully.

I smile fully and turn away from her to the door. I pull open the door and my smile vanishes from my face as I step out into the hallway. Now was the time to look at the situation like a professional. If it was true and Lex Luthor was coming… Well Andres never spoke highly of him. He always was manipulative and deceptive. And I was going to meet him. This should be… fun.

I walk down the hallway and step into the foyer of the dining room. From behind the double doors, I can already hear loud talking in Spanish and English. I hear Andres's voice among them and check myself over once to make sure I had everything I would need.

Although I had on a dress, a knife sheath was strapped to the top of my right leg two smoke pellets were on the inside of my bra incase anything happened. It might have been unnecessary, but Sir had drilled me so many times of being ready at all times, even in bed, that I carried a weapon of some sorts with me everywhere and anywhere.

I knocked on the door twice hard but gentle at the same time to make sure I was being heard and the chatter in the room stopped immediately.

"Ah, she has arrived," Andres's voice carried out to me from behind the doors in English.

I took a deep breath and shook the tense muscles building in my shoulders and back. "Luck," I murmur to myself. Without another thought, I use both hands and push the double doors away from me and swing wide out to the dining room.

I face forwards and hide any emotion as I see the tops of people's heads turn to look at me enter. I meet no one's eyes and I keep my movements formal and slow, like a predator. First impressions were everything here anyways.

I walk down tiled steps and slowly make my way to Andres sitting at the head of the table, his back turned to me. I stop beside his chair and bend a little so I am beside his ear. "Present," I say with an inside-joke-smile inside my voice.

Andres does not smile, but I see the tiniest amusement of light lighten his eyes. "Here," he says raising his voice so the rest of the people in the room can hear him. "This is Jezebelle Morolass. My newest assistant will be staying with us for this important meeting."

I look at Andres for a movement and then move my gaze to the people staring at me. Face after face. I see a few men I had only read about in reports of activity Andres had made me read, some I had never seen at all and then I saw the bald head of Lex Luthor. I make eye contact with I stare at him with a leveled gaze. He responds by a solid gaze back and I move on with a small lift in my mouth. Stubborn little butt he was going to…

My gaze stopped and my eyes nearly popped out of my face. She had on a brunette wig on, and her eyes had hazel contacts in them, but I knew her face structure, the shape of her eyes and her jawline. She had on a tight fitting blue dress on and her fake hair was falling in waves down the tight dress. But still I knew her. It was Black Canary.

My first thought was, _oh god, she's stalking me._

* * *

><p>Dinah stepped into the jet and sat down on a tan leather couch next to a fully stocked bar. Bruce was already sitting in a leather chair near the bar, drinking a glass of water and reading something on a laptop he had on a table in front of him.<p>

"It's going to be a six hour flight. Get yourself comfortable," he said to her, his eyes never leaving the screen.

Dinah did as she was told and laid against the cushions of the couch. Four hours went by in a flash while Dinah took a small nap. She got herself up later and stood up in the jet. "Do you have a wig and contacts?" she asked the still unmoved Bruce.

Bruce didn't look up. "Bathroom to the right. Second drawer."

Dinah stretched her tense muscles and made her way to the end of the plane. She stepped into the bathroom and saw rows and rows of large drawers. She stepped over to the second drawer near the door and opened it. Inside was a neat row of wigs. Several were obviously for Bruce as they were short boy hair styles, but two or three were women's.

She picked a wig with long brunette hair and put it on with expert fingers. How many times she had done this was beyond her. A good hundred times was her bet. Next she opened a side panel in the base of the drawer and a thin piece of wood slid out until it stretched across the whole shelve. It was contact utopia, with every contact color she could think of and four to every color. God this man was prepared…

She put on hazel contacts and began her hair and makeup treatment for looking like a complete slut.

Two hours later, the plane landed and she stepped out of the plane arm in arm with Bruce Wayne in a short blue dress that just barely covered her butt and five inch heels. Her wig was curled and styles to make her cheekbones look good and she had put on enough makeup to drown Hitler. She was looking like a complete and total money sucking slut.

"Brucie I'm thirsty," she said in a sickly sweet voice as one of Andres's men came to take them to the house in a limo.

The hired man was Latino with black hair and a thin mustache. He guided them to a black limo and opened the door to them. "Do not worry Miss. There are refreshments in the back," he told her with a thick Spanish accent.

Dinah smiled dimly at the man and got into the car with Bruce right behind her. The driver got in and left the front panel down, a unsaid statement that meant they were being watched. Bruce playing with his character leaned against the cushions of the limo and put an arm around Dinah, who in return leaned against him suggestively.

The driver glanced at the couple in the back and started the car, to the appointed destination.

Thirty minuets later Bruce and Dinah got out of the car and were lead into a huge house standing as tall as a small mountain. It wasn't really a house, more like a castle. "Oh Brucie, their house is even bigger than yours," Dinah said dim wittedly as the security checked them in. She noticed the guards were white and were looking her up and down with a feverish eye. When she made her comment she noticed the stupidly amused smile spread across the guards faces; fully believing she was a dumb brunette girl sucking money out a billionaire for the next three nights.

She smiled guiltily and walked onwards hanging on to Bruce's arm into the large house. She walked down wooden floor hallways and passed dozens of double doors and lavish empty rooms. Good god this house was gigantic, she would have gotten lost in a heartbeat if she lived here…

Finally their guide opened a set of huge double set doors into a huge dining room with a long table set with china plates and silver silverware. Bruce led them into the room and she noticed the people already in the room. A bunch of business men in dark suits with a couple of skankily dressed women like Dinah. She searched for familiar faces and she recognized one off the bat.

Lex Luthor. Half parent to Conner, Superboy.

He was dressed in head to toe black suit with a red tie and black leather shoes. He was standing next to a short woman wearing a white dress that didn't leave anything to the imagination and talking to a medium built business man with gray hair.

From behind them, she heard a low voice call from the opening of the doorway. "Ah, everyone is here." Dinah looked behind her and saw a tall Mexican man with broad shoulders and thick brown hair. He stood with an aura of power and she noticed then everyone stopped talking when he made his presence known. This was a dangerous man.

"Let us all have a seat now," he said openly pointing to the dining room table and chairs. He stepped down from the stairs that were under the doorway and made his way to the long dining room table. Others followed his suit and before she could blink, Bruce had her by the waist and was pulling her to a chair at the side of the table.

Andres sat himself at the head of the table and saved the chair to the right of him to be empty. So someone else was coming, and she had one good guess to who it was. She wondered how she looked. Eight months without seeing her…

Everyone was seated and she noticed Lex Luthor was sitting cross from her, with the woman in the white dress sitting across from Bruce. She smiled politely at the woman, and the woman smirked with pursed lips in response. So that was how a real money sucker acted…

Andres stood up from the head of the table and silenced the thin chatter that was being spoken around the edges of the table. "Good evening Senor's and Senora's," he started off. "We are here today to start the beginning of a new business. I know some of us have worked together for a number of years and those times have been profitable, but as I will be releasing to the press by tomorrow, I am transforming my business into something more useful than making weapons for the war lords of the world. I am dedicating my business to something more than…"

Dinah stopped listening to the man's words and watched as he explained things with his hands. The man never smiled, but you could feel the lightness in his words, the excitement in his eyes, like a father with a new child. She thought over the man's bloody history and she wondered to herself. Was this really the man who had blood dripping from his ledger? The man that took homes fast than he gave them away? The same man who cared nothing but the profit of his work?

This was someone else she was sure. She had read and then reread this man's report and sketchy history. It was something she didn't want to look at again, and yet now here stood the man talking animatedly about changing his ways…

She wondered what had changed him…

Andres sat back down in his chair and a scattered applause echoed off the walls of the room. Some of the men in the seats looked outraged, she could see and some looked pleasantly surprised. She noticed Lex Luthor looked murderous.

She realized that he had stopped his speech and she smiled lightly as the applause ended slowly. Andres called the waiters that were waiting at the side of the room to bring in the food and they left the room stiff backed and with empty expressions.

Conversation broke out among the people in the room in Spanish and English. She turned and saw Bruce was in a conversation with a man to his right. She looked away and pretended to look at the ceiling with fascinated eyes. Instead she listened to the conversations and took notes in her head about things here and their.

From the front of the room there was a loud and firm double knock at the double doors. The food already? Dinah thought.

She saw Andres look up and his expression become soft. He raised his hands in the air and the conversation stopped in the room. "Ah she has arrived," he said with a firm nod.

Dinah looked towards the door and she watched as the heavy doors swung open to them. Jezebelle stood in the middle of the two open doors with the sunlight behind her, looking royal and dignified.

She had a red dress on, a red dress that was tight across her chest and then loose until the bottom of the dress hit the tops of her muscled knees. Her face was straight and held no emotion, but she could see her eyes and they shone brightly in the wood and tiled room. She looked like a princess, her hair braided and curled around so her face never looked uneven or naked. She wore very little makeup, and Dinah could see the lines in her face that had not been there the last time she had seen her.

It was like looking at a new person…

Jezebelle walked down the steps with soft footfalls and looking effortlessly graceful. She reminded her of a butterfly… a red butterfly.

Her eyes scanned the rest of the people watching and she saw Lex Luthor looking at the girl with cold and calculating eyes. Her eyes glanced back to Jezebelle and then she looked at Bruce. His face was impassive and blank, but she saw he was watching the younger girl carefully as if assessing her in a job.

Jezebelle bent down to Andres and whispered into his ear, so no one else could hear, but Dinah could read lips and she nearly furrowed her eyebrows as she figured out that she had said 'present'. It seemed that it meant something between them, for Andres didn't move, but he somehow seemed less tensed as businesslike.

"Here," Andres said, raising his voice so the rest of the people in the room could hear him. "This is Jezebelle Morolass." Dinah widened her eyes at the news. So she had changed her name. Which probably was why no one could get their hands on her now. She was a different person." My newest assistant will be staying with us for this important meeting."

Dinah sat still as Jezebelle nodded her thanks to the older man, and she watched as Jezebelle started analyzing faces at the table like a computer.

She was defiantly changed from the last time she had seen her. This young woman was organized and confident about what she did. Not the lost and hard fisted teenager in the fight cages. Dinah watched and analyzed as Jezebelle took in all the faces around the table, closer and closer to her.

Dinah clenched one fist under the table and she saw Jezebelle's gaze stop for a moment when she saw Lex Luthor. Huh, she knew her enemies well then. That was interesting.

Jezebelle's gaze went farther down the table and then switched to other side of the table, closer to Dinah, closer and closer. Dinah looked straight at her when Jezebelle's gaze finally came around to her and she saw the younger girl's eyes widen.

So she did recognize and remember her.

They held each other eyes for a moment, before Jezebelle broke the contact and continued down to Bruce. Her eyes stopped at him for more than a moment and she seemed to almost lock her jaw. But before Dinah could look closer, Jezebelle was already moving on to the next business man in the line.

Andres signaled for his assistant to sit and Jezebelle smiled then nodded to the older man. She sat in the open chair to the right of Andres and waited as Andres made his next move.

Bruce tensed in the chair beside her, and Dinah went on alert. What was Bruce-

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Andres announced. "You have all gathered here and I have told you my plan of my company. Sadly, I do not think that I will be around to see the climax of my newest idea and instead I will pass down my legacy and plan to my successor." Dinah caught on to what Bruce had already figured out and she clenched both fists. No freaking way…

"I have been looking for a successor to raise my company from the ground on which it stands on at this moment. I have looked at many people and none have made my expectations. And although it was a sudden decision I made only some time ago, I believe this will be for the best," he said standing up and raising an arm with a glass of champagne in it. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce you to my successor of my newest company, Jezebelle Morolass."

* * *

><p>I nearly choke on the air I'm breathing.<p>

Did he just…

Did he really just do what I think he just did? …

People swivel their heads to me and automatically, I break into a wide smile. Good God, I think I'm going to pass out…

I look up to Andres and he is staring at me with expectant eyes.

The little ass-hat!

'Don't forget Jezebelle. Whatever they say or happens, smile. Don't let them think they have the upper hand. You are powerful, you are strong and you are destined to do great things.' Oh he was planning this from the beginning. That little manipulative…

I smile wide and nod in thank you as people begin to clap for my achievement.

I meet Andres's eyes and I knew what he was doing. He was testing me. He was testing to see if I could keep this with a dignified and focused expression even though he just thrown a bomb at me.

Ohhhhhhh. Boy, am I going to have a chat with him about this.

* * *

><p><strong>TWIST!<strong>

**So school year is almost over... yay? IDK i actually enjoy school...**

**SO ANYWAYS!**

**REVIEWWWWWWWWWWWWWW**

**k thats all, tell me whatcha think**

**~missmusicluver**


	19. Chapter 19

I nearly choke on the air I'm breathing.

Did he just…

Did he really just do what I think he just did? …

People swivel their heads to me and automatically, I break into a wide smile. Good God, I think I'm going to pass out…

I look up to Andres and he is staring at me with expectant eyes.

The little ass-hat!

'Don't forget Jezebelle. Whatever they say or happens, smile. Don't let them think they have the upper hand. You are powerful, you are strong and you are destined to do great things.' Oh he was planning this from the beginning. That little manipulative…

I smile wide and nod in thank you as people begin to clap for my achievement.

I meet Andres's eyes and I knew what he was doing. He was testing me. He was testing to see if I could keep up with this in a dignified and focused expression even though he just thrown a bomb at me.

Ohhhhhhh. Boy, am I going to have a chat with him about this.

* * *

><p>I smile and stand up with steady feet. I nod in thanks at the growing sound of clapping as people digest what has happened. I could see from some of the badly hidden expressions of the business men that they were as surprised as I was, if not more.<p>

I mean come _on_, I'm sixteen. What kind of sixteen year old is just handed a brand new billion dollar company straight onto her lap? Sure as all heck not _me_, the runaway from the states…

The clapping has died down and I sit back down in my seat with down cast eyes, knowing that every single person in the room had their eyes on me. Every single one of them.

I clench my hands under the table, nails digging into my palms and force myself to look upwards at the powerful men around me. I place a small smile on my face like I knew this oh so wonderful piece of information from the start. Good god, he just _threw me under the bus_. Who does that?

I nod once to the staring men and I turn my attention to Andres at my left. I meet his eyes and all I see is a blank expression, reminding me of a cold wall. Hiding his expression. I was going to throw a fit and a very _loud_ fit when we were in private. God help him.

I smile politely at him and Andres turns to the men around the table. "Well now that I've shared that piece of information with everyone ladies and gentlemen, I believe it's high time that we all eat."

And then came in the rows of silver platters emerging from the sides of the room. Black tailored waiters came in with pristine outfits of the highest quality and sat down the first course, which I would guess to be a light salad, to the many people around the room. The silver lids were lifted and low and behold, a small salad sat artfully on the china plates.

"Please, as my successor has told me they say in the states, 'dig in'," Andres says spreading his arms out like he was going to offer the people around in the room a hug. "I hope you enjoy yourselves for the time being here," he said with a slight nod in his head to the men at the table. "But I would ask you to forgive me; I must have a private conversation with my newest successor and protégé."

Oh you damn right.

The silver plate is set in front of me and I wait as the waiter moves away before I stand up in my chair carefully. I ignore the food staring at me from my newly opened plate and follow the already standing Andres to the double doors in the front of the room.

Andres opens the door for me and motions me to go first with his hand. "After you," he says nicely.

I walk through the door before him and without a second glance at the people behind me. Andres follows me and I walk down the hallway stiff and tight lipped. Oh boy oh boy Andres, I am gonna ring your freaking neck you manipulative, low lifed, moronic, pib squeeking, shallow minded, egotistical-

Andres interrupts my raging thoughts. "Stop here," he said halfway down the hallway.

I turn on my heel and swivel around to face Andres with a stony expression. I meet his eyes and shake my head tensely. "You," I said my jaw aching from the pressure I was keeping on it. "You," I say again, shaking my head robotically, unable to do anything else in my silent rage.

Andres doesn't look impressed. "Me," he says shortly.

My anger flares and I raise my hands in the air. "What were you thinking!" I spit out loudly and fiercely. "Just what in God's name where you seriously thinking?" I ask looking up at the ceiling as if the answers were plastered there all along. "You train me for _two months_ on the edicates of the upper social class. _Two _freaking_ months_," I say raising my voice and looking at him again. "And then you have me read and analyze and report on all of the business managements and social orders you can get your hands on," I say. "And _then_ you have me analyze the best choices for _your_ successor over and over and over again. Only to have you throw it all back in my face and _throw me under the bus_ with your surprising news that, guess what! You've chosen me!" I yell now at him. "And knowing you, you already have it down on paper and have sent it to all of your branches of business!" I say now in an almost whisper. "Didn't you?" I ask, not wanting to know the unavoidable answer. I lapse into silence, waiting for Andres to answer.

Andres stares at me and doesn't change his unimpressed expression. "Yes," he says. "I have."

I throw my hand up in the air again, this time in total exasperation. The nerve of this guy, I mean really!

"And yes, I made this decision without talking to you first because I knew you would protest," he says calmly.

"You're damn right I would have protested!" I say my eyes wide.

"Language," he chastised me with suddenly narrowed eyes. I drop my gaze from his, momentarily silenced.

"Sorry," I mutter just barely audible.

Andres doesn't change his expression. "Yes, I made this decision without your knowledge because I already knew that you wouldn't be open to the idea of running my company," he starts to explain. "But for the longest time, I had already known that you were the only one capable enough to handle such a feat as running _my_ company," he says completely serious. "Only you could withstand the pressure, the drama, and the back breaking decisions that would come with the territory of running a multi-billion dollar company under my name."

I am lapsed into a deeper silence, listening with open ears to his statement.

Andres returns to his calm expression, totally composed. "And as you progressed through the assignments I gave you, I grew to realize that you had caught on to the patterns of the stock and the dealings of trade far faster than even my most dedicated and educated associates had," he explains further. "I grew to realize, you were a natural at holding the most complicated theories into delicate hands and nurturing the most promising solutions in the quickest time," he says with an even tone. "You were the only one who stood above the rest of the world and knew where your duty and where your feelings lay in the midst of a cry of war."

Andres lapsed into his own silence, and I felt my anger drain away like an unclogged bathtub.

Good God … How did I respond to something like that?

I mean, Andres never, _never ever_ gave out compliments. Not even little ones. It was a nod of the head or a blink of an eye that let you understand that he approved of something you did. And he had just given me literally, a wave of fuzzy warm feelings to flow through my stomach and mind. A compliment. Several compliments.

And I was the protégé of a billion dollar company. WHAT was the world coming to?

"Um," I say intelligently. "I… I'm sorry," I finally manage to say out loud.

Andres looks taken back at my statement. "Sorry?" he repeats.

I nod. "I'm sorry," I say swallowing and looking away from him. "But that… that's not me," I say almost at a whisper. "That girl, the person you make me out to be…" I say carrying off and shaking my head now shortly. "I'm not that strong."

I look at the ground and don't wait to see Andres's reaction. I turn away from him and take a step down the hallway, away from the dining room. Away from whatever expression Andres had on his face at the moment about, me.

Someone's hand wraps around the upper part of my arm. "Strong," Andres's voice repeats from behind me, almost bemused.

I turn my head around to his voice and my eyes widen. He was smirking. The hell…

_He was smirking at me!_

My jaw drops a little and I tip my head in shock. Here I was putting out my heart and soul to him, telling him the undeniable truth about myself, and he _smirks._

"Strong," he says again, this time with a wide smirk across his face like he found my failure amusing. "You truly are a wonder," he says shaking his head this time and releasing my arm from his grip.

I raise my eyebrows, now totally lost. "_What?"_ Wonder? Yea, I don't think so. More like Blunder.

Andres looks up at me and his smirk slowly fades from his face. "Strong," he says for like the third time.

"Superman," I reply with a straight face.

Andres's expression turns confused and narrow.

"Sorry," I say nonchalantly and shrug a shoulder. "I thought we were doing that thing when you say a word and I say the first thing that pops into my mind," I say evenly. "Since you said the same thing three or four times, I thought you were trying to put a point across."

Andres looks at me for a moment with a blank expression and then puts one hand over his eyes as if he was exasperated. "Las cosas que tengo que aguantar ..." I hear him mutter under his breath. _The things I have to put up with…_

I make the quick translation in my head and I narrow my eyes. "You do realize that I speak just as much Spanish as you do, right?" I ask with pinched eyebrows.

Andres drops his hand and rotates his jaw in annoyance. "Come, our associates are waiting for us," he orders bluntly, turning around and walking away from me.

I watch as he starts to walk away from me and I hurry to catch up with him. "_Our_ associates huh?" I say with my own smirk, turning a little silly. "Careful Andres, people might start to think that you care for me," I say with a slightly playful tone. "The next thing you know, I'll be calling you 'Andy'," I smile as I walk with him closer to the dining room door.

I heard Andres almost choke on whatever air he had been breathing. "By the Gentle Mary, you had better never do that," he says, recovering quickly with a dignified back.

I smile slightly. "Don't worry, I don't think I would have the courage to face your thunder if I ever did," I say now standing in front of the wooden doors of dining room beside him.

Andres pushes the doors open and he walks out with a step ahead of me. I see his lips move slightly and I barely hear his murmured response. "You think too less of yourself."

I look up slightly to see his expression, but he has already walked ahead of me and to our seats; probably turning his expression back into a brick wall for the business men he was bound to start talking to.

I sit in my seat and realize we are already on the third course. I pick at the lamb chops and gravy on my plate with a silver fork and sip lightly at the water in front of me.

Andres calls my attention to the conversation I had no idea was going on in front of me and motions for me to listen and analyze. He meets my eyes and I get the unspoken message. He was going to have a quiz on this after dinner.

I immerse myself in the discussion of trade packets in the Middle East and memorize every comment and turn of discussion from that moment onwards. So training never did end for me. I sigh inwardly and focus my energy and thoughts on the conversation around me, but letting one small part of myself know subconsciously that the Black Canary hadn't lifted her gaze off of me since I had sat down at the table.

Not once.

Dinner and dessert finished, and people started to get up and leave for the night. People had houses or property they could go to somewhere near and one by one, people started to leave. Soon, there were only a few people left. Four to be precise.

Lex Luthor, his skimpy plus one, Bruce Wayne, and the undercover Black Canary.

Andres motioned me forwards with him to the remaining people and a dark pit of worry started to bite at the lining of my stomach. If they were the last to leave without a good excuse, then they were probably… ugh. Someone really had me in their shit-list somewhere up in heaven.

Andres and I reach the politely conversing people in the other wards empty room. "Mr. Luthor, Mr. Wayne," Andres says stopping next to them with me beside him. The two men turn as one towards Andres and their plus ones turn as well to us. I concentrate my gaze on Lex Luthor, afraid to look anywhere else, considering my history with the two people to my right. My could-have-been-boss and my… well I had no idea what to call the Black Canary's relationship to me.

So I focused on not looking anywhere dangerous.

"I understand that you both are in the middle of buying and renovating homes for yourselves here in Bolivia," Andres says in his usual business tone.

But my mind goes blank in worry. FUG NUGGETS! Yep, my worst nightmares right here…

"…it would be my pleasure to allow you to stay here at my home until your own homes are finished and complete."

Crap.

"…and as guests here, I would like to remind you that breakfast is at 8:30 every morning for everyone…"

Double crap.

"… I will show Mr. Luthor to his room. While Jezebelle, why don't you show Mr. Wayne and his beautiful friend to their room?" he says turning to look at me in a swift glance.

See? Someone's seriously out to get me.

Fug my fugly fug nugget filled life.

I smile and nod once. "Yes sir," I say clearly. Andres nods in return and immediately turns away from me with Lex Luthor in tow with his blonde accessory.

I mentally slap the back of Andres's head over and over again as I watch him leave.

Seeing as no way to avoid this, I turn to the couple next to me. I look at Bruce Wayne and smile sheepishly at him. "Hello Mr. Wayne," I say politely.

Bruce Wayne smiles in return. "Hello Miss … Morolass."

I sigh outwardly. "So you do remember me," I say almost with a wince. Andres was going to love this…

Bruce's smile was gone and an almost pained look was on his face. "I will admit that it is hard to forget seeing something as disturbing as the loss of the life of a small child," Bruce Wayne answered slowly.

A cold breeze sets goosebumps at the back of my neck down to my legs. Of course, how could I forget? "I'm sorry," I say considerably quieter. "I had forgotten that you were there… that…day."

I turn away from Bruce Wayne and the Black Canary with a turn of my heel. "Follow me and I'll lead you to your rooms," I say thickly, realizing I was losing my cool.

I'm silent as we pass out of the dining room and eventually the hallway. "Do you have a preference?" I ask passing now familiar doors.

"Excuse me?" Bruce Wayne asks from behind me.

I slow my footsteps and wait as the couple catches up to me. "Do you have a preference as to where you want to sleep?" I ask pushing out my arm to the random doors around me. "Most are furnished the same way. The only real difference is the view to the grounds around us," I explain.

"I see," Bruce Wayne answered.

"Do you have a preference then?" I ask again slowly.

"I don't mind really. Marybeth, what would you like dear?" Bruce asks Black Canary.

I force myself to look at the brunette wigged woman next to Bruce Wayne and keep my face blank as her eyes look up to me. "Oh, I don't know really. What is the best?" she asks, really laying it on as a money sucking whore.

I tip my head like Andres taught me to in society instead of shrugging my shoulders. "I would always suggest the view over the pasture and lake," I answer honestly.

That place really was my favorite sitting in the house. There was a huge man-made lake with Andres's many horses grazing around the open pasture of always green grass. There was a huge willow that sat next to the lake with a flat boulder under it, making it the perfect place to spend time to think and relax from my 'training'.

"Oh! That would be perfect!" Black Canary/ Marybeth says sweetly. She looks up at Bruce Wayne with wide eyes. "What do you think Brucie?" she asks seriously.

I try not to choke on my breath and laugh until my sides burst. Brucie?

Bruce Wayne looks down at 'Marybeth' and smiles. "Whatever you want," he says with a nod. I watch him watch the shorter woman and I almost shake my head in wonder.

God, the poor guy didn't even know who he was sleeping with. If he knew I bet he'd flip a lid. _The_ Black Canary. I'm sure he'd even get major bonus points in the playboy world if he ever found out…

Bruce looks up at me and I smile lightly. "Right," I say. I turn to the right hallway next to us and start walking. "This way," I say leading the couple.

We walk down a couple more hallways and I end up getting them to a large room with double wooden doors. "Here you go," I say indicating the door in front of me. "The room with the view you wanted."

Bruce opened the door and looked inside. "Thank you for your help Miss. Morolass."

I nod. "I hope I don't have to remind you to keep our past meetings between just the two of us," I say to him as he opens the other door for 'Marybeth'.

Bruce looks back at me. "Of course," he says with a nod. "As long as you keep it to yourself that you were thinking of interning for me."

I smile slightly. "Yes I'll keep that embarrassing piece of information to myself in return."

Bruce Wayne nods to me once. "Good night Miss. Morolass," he says politely.

"Goodnight Mr. Wayne," I answer in return. I turn to the brunette. "Good night Marybeth."

"Good night Miss. Morolass," she says back to me with a yawn, a fake one is I knew her at all. Her head jerks upwards as if she forgot something. "Oh! I forgot to ask you, how will we know how to get back to the dining room? This place is quite big," she asks.

Probably wondering how many people circulate throughout the night around the hallways.

"If you need anything, you can use the phone to call for help in the room and we can send a guide," I answer neatly.

"What if I don't like the person?" she asks, crossing her hands over her chest like she was about to throw a fit. God she had the first class snuck up woman down pat. It was almost impressive.

Almost.

I look down the hallway and realize what she's asking. "Well if you ever need help, my room is down this hall to the left and the third door on the right," I answer, answering her unasked question.

Black Canary meets my eyes and at that moment, I knew that I wasn't going to be alone in my room for very long tonight. She wanted to talk.

"Well," I say. "If that's all, goodnight," I say one last time.

"Good night," Bruce Wayne says to me.

"Goodnight," Black Canary repeats. I nod and turn away as Bruce closes both of his oak bedroom doors with 'Marybeth' behind him.

"Right, goodnight," I say to myself as I make my way to my own room down the hall. I turn back once more to the door the couple disappeared behind and I sigh silently. A sinking feeling had entered my stomach, and I knew in the back of my mind that tomorrow, tomorrow would start the beginning of something… something new.

* * *

><p>Three hours after dinner, I sat in my room on the front couch in the first room. A light knock comes from the door and I look up instantly alert.<p>

I smooth out a wrinkle in my tank top and basketball shorts with a nervous hand. Breathe, I tell myself. Just breathe. "Come in," I call out to the front door.

The door opens slowly, and I look up silently as the brunette wigged Black Canary walks in.

The light behind her spreads her shadow on the carpeted floor in front of me, and for a moment, I'm back in the fighting arena with Black Canary and her arms around me as I sob into her shoulder over my dead sister.

I blink twice and swallow the rising feelings in my throat. That had been eight months ago. More than half a year since I had seen her. I shouldn't even remember this woman. She was a part of my past. She was part of the life I was leaving behind.

She stands in front of the door for a moment and then takes a step forwards into the room. The door closes behind her silently. I look upwards at her and fold my hands in my lap tensely. Black Canary looks down at me and she turns to me with arms loosely at her sides.

"Jezebelle," she says.

"Black Canary," I say quietly.

Black Canary takes a step forwards to me and sits on the couch opposite if me. She crosses her legs and I swallow silently.

Silence.

"So what were you-"

"Why are you-" we say at each other at the same time.

Black Canary fakes a laugh. "Okay, I'll start," she says. She meets my eyes with her hazel colored ones. She takes a breath. "It's good to see you," she starts off.

I nod.

She sets her elbow on her knee. "I… didn't expect you to leave," she says.

I nod.

She looks away and then back at me with a sigh. "Okay, I'm not doing this right. You start."

I feel my mouth go dry. Ummm. "So how's your knight in shining leather?"

Canary smiles lightly. "He's good. Although he's sorry he couldn't make it today to come see you too."

I grin with a small lift of my mouth. "That's too bad. Does he know you came here in Bruce Wayne's lap?" I ask raising an eyebrow at her.

Black Canary widens her eyes. "Wh- Oh, god no. That… This…" she shakes her head. "Okay, well this is a little awkward."

I bite back a small laugh. "Yea, I guess it kinda is for you at the moment."

Black Canary shrugs a shoulder lightly. "It's more awkward for you than me, you still don't know all the details."

"Details?" I ask.

Black Canary smiles. "Details," she repeats. "The secrets of the League surrounding this whole situation," she says waving a hand in the air.

"What situation?" I ask confused. "And why is the League involved?" I ask shaking my head. "Actually, better question, why are you here?"

Black Canary leans forwards. "You didn't think that after finding out about three of the League's secret identities, they would leave you alone?" she asks with a sarcastic eyebrow. "After the team reported that you knew that, you were considered a liability."

"So you're here to make sure I didn't spill their secret identity to Andres?" I ask crossing my arms.

Black Canary shakes her head. "No, I came because I was worried."

"Their secrets are safe, I swear," I say.

"I was worried about you," she states over me.

I look at her. "I'm fine. Always have been," I say dismissing her statement.

"Which is why you left America," she observes now sitting back with a sarcastic tone.

"I left because I wanted to," I argue.

"No," she says. "You left because you felt alone and abandoned."

Annoyance slips into my voice. "I wasn't thinking at that time. My sister had just died."

"That doesn't change the fact that you left."

"And now I have a new life. Leaving was the best thing for me," I say.

"Was it?" she asks leaning forwards again. "Was it really the best thing for you? Or was it the easiest to do?" she asks.

I jerk upwards. "Of course it wasn't easy!" I say. "I left all my friends and my entire life in the states. I left the only thing I ever knew! I only did what I thought was right!"

"So you ran away?" she asks.

"I took a hiatus," I answer with grinded teeth.

"It's been eight months."

"And my plans have changed."

Black Canary nods. "You're right. You now are the successor of a million dollar company of a man who paid for it all with blood money."

"Don't judge him," I snap at her. "He may have done bad things in his past-"

"Jezebelle he's killed people!" Black Canary interrupts me loudly. "He's manipulated people to do bad things and he's got a ledger filled and dripping with others people blood. Since he was seventeen he's had a bad way of dealing business and he hasn't changed in thirty years. He's using you to gain power somehow because that's the kind of man he is! I've seen his report and his history and I've seen the kind of damage a man like that can do to someone-"

"You don't know anything!" I say nearly yelling over her.

Black Canary shakes her head in frustration. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into Jezebelle! He might seem like a good man with him trying to change his company, but he's got an ulterior motive behind what he's doing, he always does."

"You can't know-"

"Why are you defending him!" she yells.

"Because I _know_ he's not taking advantage of me!" I yell back.

"How can you possibly know that?" she yells standing up in a sudden jerk of anger.

"Because he's DYING!" I yell and stand up too. I widen my eyes and clap my hands over my mouth in horror at what I had just said. Oh god, I had told…

"What?" Black Canary asks, her voice dropping low and quiet.

I swallow nervously and my stomach tightens painfully. Andres was going to kill me…

"He… he's dying," I whisper out to her. "He's dying of a type of pancreas cancer."

Black Canary drops her mouth a little like that had been the last thing she was expecting.

"He… he'll... He'll be dead in four months," I say sitting back down on the couch. Dead in four months.

"How do you… Oh," she says raising her eyebrows. "That's why you're staying with him."

"In exchange for training and a new identity, I help him live a little longer."

Black Canary sat back down on the couch and put her head in her hands. "And you… you agreed to this when?"

"Two months ago. Right after the miny League came and blew up part of the mountain I had been working in," I say.

"You were doing manual labor _in the mountain_?" she asks looking back up at me.

I shrug absently. "I had to do something to eat," I answer.

"And this agreement, did it include you becoming his successor?" she asks.

I shake my head. "No, that wasn't part of the deal at all. That was surprising news I just found out today," I answer truthfully. Why am I telling her all this?

"I see," she answers thinly.

I stay silent for a moment. "I don't regret leaving," I say later. "It might have been hard to do, but I don't regret it."

Black Canary glances at me and then at the air in front of her, lost in thought. "I know," she says much quieter than before. "It was something you needed to do."

I nod, glad she had understood my mixed feelings. "I just… couldn't walk around the city that had carried her voice, her footsteps and smiles in," I say lapsing into a whisper. "It was just painful."

Black Canary is silent and we let the quietness fall over us.

"Are you happy here?" Black Canary asks me, breaking our silence.

"What?" I ask, taken off guard.

"Are you happy here?" she repeats firmly.

"I…yes. No…. I- I don't know," I say shaking my head. "It's somewhere to sleep, eat and train," I say honestly. "Somewhere I can feel safe for a little while."

Black Canary looks away. "Then my offer still stands," she says getting up from the couch.

"What offer?" I ask watching her as she got to her feet.

She looks down at me evenly. "The offer of being happy," she says. "The offer of getting away from his place and going somewhere else."

"Somewhere else?" I repeat.

"Somewhere away from the business and the deals and the gray areas," she answers. "You say you wanna leave your life behind, to start something new. You can still do that, at any time." She steps closer to me and she puts her hand on my shoulder, wrapping warm fingers around my skin.

"You can leave with me and join me. Train with me. I can teach you to defend and attack the bad guys in the world. The bad guys I know you so desperately want to get rid of," she says. "You can learn to protect the world from going through the pain you went through when you lost your only family. You can stop and save the world with me. All you have to do is say yes and it's yours; it always has been."

I look up at her hazel colored eyes and try to imagine the blue behind the contacts. "Are you saying what I think your trying to say?" I ask, looking straight into her eyes.

"It's an invitation, and it has no deadline. It's just there in case you feel abandoned and alone again," she answers slowly. "It's there for you in case you need someone."

"Why?" I ask. "Why all for me? Why not some other kick-butt girl with powers?" I ask.

"This has nothing to do with your powers or your fighting ability. This offer is because you have a good heart and frankly speaking, a good soul. You're the type of person the world needs more of and you have the dedication to make it a better place to live."

"So because I'm nice?" I ask shaking my head at her.

"No, because you do the right thing even if it means getting yourself hurt in the process. You… You are an amazing person and you don't even see it because of the grief and guilt you feel over losing your sister. It dims your light and it makes you feel unworthy and low. Those feelings are the things that make you a great person, a person that can stand on top of the world and help it; not rule it."

I shake my head again and drop my eyes from hers. "I don't get it," I say. "I don't understand."

"You will," Black Canary says. "Eventually, you will."

I shake my head again. "Black Canary, why are you-"

"Dinah," she says interrupting me. "My name, is Dinah."

"Dinah," I repeat quietly. "…You don't look like a Dinah."

Dinah smiles. "I know, most people say I look like a Britney or a Tiffany."

I snort with short laughter. "Yea, not as a Britney."

Dinah grins. "Think about it," she says to me quietly, reminding me of our previous conversation. "Think about what I said and remember, there is no expiration date on it."

Dinah lets go of my shoulder and walks away from me towards the door. "Sleep tight," she says. Then she opens the door and leaves, only leaving the soft click of the closing door behind for me.

"Night," I whisper back at her.

* * *

><p>Dick Grayson stared at Alfred. "What do you mean he left?" he said with pinched eyebrows. "He can't have just left!"<p>

"I'm afraid Master Dick, that Master Bruce has gone to a business meeting in Bolivia," Alfred replied frankly.

"Bolivia?" Dick repeated with a dawning realization.

"For the next three days," Alfred nodded, picking up a dirty dish from the counter.

"Did anyone go with him?" he asked, already knowing the answer grimly.

"I believe a Miss Dinah has gone with him Master Dick," Alfred replied.

Dick furrowed his eyebrows deeper together. They didn't…

"And they won't be back for three days?" Dick asked calculating in his head.

"Well Sir, not for two days if you count tonight," Alfred said.

"Right," Dick nodded quickly. "Then I'll see you in two days."

"Master Dick?" Alfred asked genuinely surprised.

"Bruce might not have taken me with him, but I'm sure he would have wanted me to go with him." He pauses. "Besides, he wants me to start getting the hang of learning the business world," Dick responds turning away from his butler with a quick step.

Alfred called out from behind him. "Shall I contact Master Bruce then?" Alfred asked.

Dick waved his hand in dismissal. "No it's okay, I'll just surprise him Alfred." Dick turned a corner and walked towards his own room. He pulled out a phone from his pocket and pressed several buttons. "Hello pilot Thomas, it's Dick. Yes, I know he left today. Actually, I was wondering if you could take me there as well tonight. No, I want to surprise him, it's been a while since I spent any time with him. … Yes I understand. An hour it is. Goodbye," he said. He got to his door and shut his phone softly.

So they both left without him. They _knew_ he would want to know what was going on, and they just left him without a word.

He opened his door and got out a small suit case. Fine then, he would come to them. Whether Bruce liked it or not, and Dick was betting his adoptive father _wasn't_ going to like it.

Dick shook his head as he added pants to the suitcase. Bruce should have told him. At least told him about where he was going. And then to take Dinah along…

He put the rest of his necessities into the suitcase and closed the lid to the small bag.

He pulled out his phone again and pressed speed dial. "Hey Barbra, it's me Dick… Yea I know it's due Tuesday. Actually, I was wondering if you could hold it for me for a few days… No, I'm going on a trip with Bruce for a couple days. Yea, I shouldn't be gone long… Okay, hey thanks I owe you one." Dick closed the phone and picked up his small bag.

Only one thing left to do.

Bruce was going to be _pissed_.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks, nothing new to report.<strong>

**:) for all the reviews**

**~missmusicluver**

**next: Dick crashes the party, some feelings are made 0.0 , Lex Luthor becomes a pain, a horseback incident, and well :) you'll just have to find out... *insert cliff hanger feeling here***


	20. Chapter 20

"Just tomorrow, I swear," I say to Andres with a pleading look. "Just for a bit tomorrow. You know I can't stand to be here all the time!"

Andres gives me a black look. "Maybe," he says and looks at the paper in his hands once again.

I tighten my mouth into a grimace and slap my hand down on the desk. "Maybe isn't good enough Andres. I want an answer right here and now. After today's incident can't you just give me a straight answer for a first?"

Andres looks at the hand I had abused his table with and then at me. "Fine. NO," he says quietly but firmly.

I slap my other hand on the desk, now leaning towards him. "That answer's not up for grabs tonight. I want a yes," I say looking him in the eyes.

He doesn't even blink. "No."

"That's not your answer," I argue.

"Oh yes it is," he says back. "You asked for a premature answer and I gave you one. NO."

"It'll just be for a little bit!" I say exasperated. "It won't even be for that long! Come on!"

There's a knock from the study door and I turn around with a thin grimace already on my face. I was not in a good mood. "Come in," Andres calls calmly from behind me.

The door opens and a still suited Lex Luthor walks into the room with Karina beside him. "I'm sorry Sir, he asked me to take him to you. He said it was urgent," she explains immediately.

Andres waves them both in and Karina closes the door behind them. "It's okay, Jezebelle was just leaving."

I turn around in a flash and place my hands on my hips. "No I was not about to Andres. _We _were just in the middle of a conversation. And I'm not leaving until I get an answer."

Andres gives me a cold look. "I gave you an answer. It was no."

"Okay, fine. I'm not leaving until I get the answer I want," I say revising my proposition.

Lex laughs softly from behind me. I turn around to face him and his bald head. He covers his mouth with one hand. "I apologize, it's just that she is already acting like _the_ business woman of a multi-million dollar company," he explains.

Andres isn't amused. "Jezebelle, we'll talk about this tomorrow."

But I know him too well. "No you won't Andres. You'll put it off until it's too late to go out and do it. I want an answer _now_, and I want you to make sure it'll happen without any road blocks," I say with unflinching eyes. I had seriously been in this house way too long.

Andres levels his eyes at me, unyielding.

"What exactly is it that she wants?" Lex asks from behind me.

"_She_ wants to go horseback riding tomorrow and to take a break from … this!" I say spreading out my arms in example.

Lex doesn't seem to mind that he had insulted me. "And why can't you?" he asks.

I give him a cold look. "Because he said no," I say.

Lex looks over to Andres. "And why can't she?" he asks him.

Andres looks over at Lex and then at me. "Good night Mr. Luthor," he answers.

Lex widens his eyes. "I just meant that-"

"We are all tired. Jezebelle, you can go riding tomorrow after breakfast for a short amount of time. After that I expect you to be by my side for the rest of the night. Is that understood?" he asks me meeting my eyes. "You're horses will be saddled and ready right after breakfast, understood?" he asks again.

I leave my expression blank even though I feel a warm fuzz of happiness spread through me. "Yes Sir," I say in a monotone. "But don't forget I want Misty, the Palomino with the white tail," I remind him.

Andres nods once and then looks over at Lex Luthor. "I am heading to bed myself Mr. Luthor. We will all meet again in the morning. So until then, goodnight."

Andres turns his back away from Lex Luthor and I. I nod in acceptance. "Good night," I say formally and turn to the door. Well, I got what I wanted. Score for me… Luthor? Not so much. Oh, well.

What's he gonna do? Kill me? Psh. Yea right.

"Sir Andres, there is a visitor for you on the phone about an incoming plane," I hear someone in the background say as I leave with Luthor in front of me, but I let it slip away from mind in the daze of my rare accomplishment against Andres.

* * *

><p>"Welcome Dick Grayson, to my home," Andres Alarico said to Dick.<p>

Dick nodded politely. "You have a very beautiful house."

"Does Mr. Bruce Wayne know you're here? I wasn't aware you would be staying with him," Andres asked him, ignoring the compliment entirely.

"I thought I'd surprise him," Dick answered carefully.

Andres raised an eyebrow. "Came by yourself did you?" he asked.

"I prefer to think of it as 'thinking ahead'," Dick said.

Andres remained still with a blank expression on his face. "I see," he said.

"Well I do hope it's not too late for me to ask to stay," Dick said, leaving himself an opening in the conversation.

"Not at all," Andres replied. "I'll have someone bring you to your room. I would think that you would want a room next to Mr. Wayne then?" he asked.

Dick smiled. "Not to close," he answered completely honest.

Andres nodded and looked towards the oak door of his wooden study that he and Dick were sitting in. "Karina!" he yelled.

A short forty year old woman with long curly brown hair hurriedly walked into the room. "Yes Sir?" she asked.

"Karina, help Mr. Grayson to his room. Put him a hallway away from Mr. Wayne's room," he ordered.

Karina nodded faithfully. "Yes Sir," she said. She looked over at Dick and nodded her head to him once. "Come along," she said kindly.

Dick stood up and followed Karina out of the study and down large hallways. He memorized every corridor he went into and every large and noticeable room. God this place was huge…

Soon enough, Karina stopped him in front a set of solid oak double doors. "Your room Sir," she said before opening the left door to him. He walked into the open door and nearly whistled out loud. Holy crud… this place…

"If you need any assistance, there is a phone in every room and pressing 3 three times will have someone sent to your room immediately for whatever you require," she said seriously.

"I understand," Dick responds equally as serious. "Also, I … I'm sorry if I woke you up or made you get up to help me at this time of night. I know it's very late," he said.

Karina smiles a small smile at the teenager. "It is alright Sir. I understand," she said lightly. She walked back to the door and gestured to the third door to his left in the large front living room. "I would suggest Sir, that you get some sleep while you can. Everyone must get up and eat breakfast together at 8:30. That only gives you four hours to sleep."

Dick grinned a little at the edges of his mouth. "Yes, I think you're right. I do feel the need to sleep," he said.

Karina smiled softly again. "Good night Sir, if you have any emergencies don't forget to call or you can contact your next door neighbor Jezebelle if it is urgently serious."

Dick hides his surprised expression at the location of Jezebelle and nods in acceptance. "Thank you," he said.

Karina nodded and walked out of the room.

Dick walked to the 'bedroom' set his bag on the floor and passed out on the king size bed. Tomorrow was going to be fun…

* * *

><p>Lex Luthor stood standing in front of a large window, overlooking the large property Andres owned from his bedroom window. "So close," he muttered to himself.<p>

So close he had been to making his dreams a reality. He had been slowly over the last three years been poisoning Andres with the food intakes and glasses of wine he had made a secret insider in the kitchen do to Andres. Three years that had taken him to properly make his sudden cancer look normal…

Three damn years of being patient and waiting for the man to just pass on already. The money between his company and Andres's company would have been enough to buyout Queen Industry, and eventually, Wayne Enterprise. To have hold of the most powerful business company's in the world… the things he could do with that power.

Lex grimaced at the beautiful landscape before him. But no. Andres had a successor. And not just any successor, like the two buffoons Andres had originally been thinking of handing down; he had already thoroughly background checked those two, they would have been fairly easy to get rid of.

No this …_girl_.

Something about her… Lex rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration.

She had this aura around her. Like she knew what she was doing. What sixteen year old seriously knows what they're doing? Not any he had met so far… well of course, save him himself. But of course, _he_ had been taught by the best his whole life, so he should know.

But her. He had done several back ground checks already as soon as the news had been announced. He had people tell him news over his ear piece throughout dinner, and desert and the rest of the night. She was a mystery.

She had a fake background; that was obvious. Anyone who pokes around long and hard enough will find the edged of the glued over paper of her life. The trick was though, her original life was gone. POOF. No trace of her, ever.

It was like the previous her didn't even exist. It was obvious Andres had eliminated her old life, but the question was, why was she getting involved in a new identity? People didn't do that unless…. Well, unless people were hunting you. He knew first hand.

So who was she running from? And who was she? And why did she have such a confident stance in the world of back handed trades and false smiles? Who _was_ she, and why did she show up RIGHT when his plan was falling into place?

He looked up at the landscape again and leveled his eyes at the half moon in front of him.

No matter. He had made much more powerful people disappear, he could do it to a simple girl of sixteen, no matter what connections she had. The world would be his. He swore it. And one day, he would even have the Superman bow at his feet in defeat. It was his destiny.

"Baby, you coming to bed? Mamma has a surprise for you," the long legged blonde he had picked up at the airport said from the room beside the balcony he was in. What was her name again? Mary? Silvia? Marybeth? No, that had been Wayne's girl, now _that_ had been a looker.

The blonde stepped out onto the balcony with him and stepped behind him, concealing her figure behind his. "It'll be something you love. I promise," she purrs, tucking herself closer to his back.

"I'll be right there," Lex answers jerking a shoulder away from her in annoyance. He bet Wayne's girl didn't get on his nerves this much.

"Aw come on babe, I can do anything you like," she says pulling closer.

Lex turns to her and puts an arm around the small of her back, lifting her feet a couple of inches off the ground. He puts his face close to hers. "Anything?" he asks, his mind turning towards tomorrows events he had already planned.

"Anything," the blonde smiles wickedly with a tip of her head.

Lex smiles thinly and drops the girl to the ground. "Get ready in the room," Lex says, pushing her away from him. "Tonight'll be fun and games, but tomorrow, your real work begins."

"Work?" she says, her feet stopping her from falling on the ground from Lex's shove. "What work?"

Lex stares at her without pity. "Work that will make you a lot of money if you do it right, or will cost you a debt you don't want to pay."

The blonde backs towards the door slowly. "What kind of debt?"

"One that can only be paid with blood my dear," he says looking back at the landscape unworried. "If you mess up tomorrow, it'll be your life on the line." He sighs. "Now leave me."

The blonde makes no attempt to argue and does as he says. Finally some respect from the woman. He looks up at the moon and smiles. The company would be his. All he had to do was get rid of the girl and the company was as good as his.

He glanced back at the door where the blonde had disappeared behind. Not that he was going to get his hands dirty of course.

* * *

><p>I put on jeans and a Flash t-shirt tucked in with a piano belt looped around my waist. Andres probably wouldn't like my choice in style, but the heck with him. Karina walks into my room and stands behind me. I smile to her from the mirrored reflection in from of us and she smiles back at me.<p>

"_Good morning_," she says.

"_Morning,_" I say back. "Sleep well?" I ask.

Karina takes out a brush from the counter in front of me and begins brushing my tangled hair softly. "Much better than Mr. Grayson I would suppose," she answers nonchalantly in English.

"Mr. Grayson?" I ask confused. No one by that name was their when I went to bed last night. But, then again, why does that name sound so familiar?

"Mr. Wayne's child, Dick Grayson, he came late last night and will only have had four hours of sleep," Karina answers.

"Dick Grayson is here?" I ask my eyebrows rising. Well, that was different. "How did Mr. Wayne react?"

"Mr. Wayne doesn't know yet that he has arrived," Karina answers immediately.

"What?" I ask, my eyebrows rising even higher. "So he's going to what… surprise him?"

"That is his intention, yes," Karina nods.

"Ha," I laugh sarcastically. "This should be an interesting morning."

Karina tightens whatever hairstyle she has placed on me and I look up in the mirror. A French braid. Starting from the top of my head and ending in the curve of my back, the French braid held my hair out of my face and was stylish enough to let me go anywhere with it on and not be criticized in Andres's high class society as a rag-a-muffin.

"Great," I say with a smile. "You know, this hairstyle would be perfect for horseback riding."

Karina nods in agreement. "Today would be a good day for riding," she suggests.

I sigh. "Yea it's going to be. Although this might be the last time I ever ride again after last night's argument with him" I say.

Karina shrugs her shoulders slightly. "He might surprise you," she says. She rests her hands on her shoulders and I smile lightly.

"Okay," I say standing up. "It's close to eight thirty, I might as well go down," I say.

"Wake up Dick Grayson and lead him to the dining room as you leave," Karina orders me.

I look up at her. "Wait why can't-"

"Andres's orders," Karina states, ending the argument.

I roll my eyes. "Okay," I say. "See you down there in a couple of minuets," I say.

Karina smiles and leaves quietly. I stare at my reflection once more before I turn away and head out of my bedroom bare footed. I turn left out of my bedroom and walk to the next wooden double set of doors in the hallway.

I stop in front of the door and knock once on the door with caution. "Dick Grayson?" I ask the wooden door in front of me. I knock again harder. "Dick?" I call.

No answer.

I'm tempted to just walk away and let the man sleep, but I know how Andres is about the whole time schedule thing for breakfast. It probably would be best for everyone if he got up _now_. So I knock again.

"Dick?" I ask. "Dick Grayson?" I knock harder and let my fist echo down the hallway. No answer. "Crap," I mutter under my breath.

I pull up my fist to the door hesitantly again, and then drop it. If he hadn't heard me by now, I seriously doubted he was going to just suddenly hear me now.

I put my hand on the door knob, and twist it gently. "Dick Grayson?" I call out through the door. "Dick Grayson?" I call out again. Yea, big improvement.

I step inside the door and walk slowly into the living room, scanning for any activity. "Umm…Dick Grayson, please get up," I call out to the wind.

No response. Man, my luck just loves to tease me doesn't it?

I walk forwards to the closed door to my left, the bedroom. Um, invasion of privacy much Jezebelle? I put my hand on the door knob and wait carefully.

"Dick?" I ask through the door. "Jezebelle here, um, it's time to wake up," I say intelligently.

No response.

I turn the knob, then stop, and unturn the knob. I couldn't just go in the bedroom! It would be a serious invasion of personal privacy. He was _sleeping._ And what if he slept _naked?_ I pull my hand away from the door and swallow hard. Good god, this was ridiculous! Just go in and-

From behind me I hear the soft footfall of a step and I subconsciously freeze up in defense. Someone was behind me.

Without thinking, I reach out behind me lightning fast and grab hold onto the person's arm with an iron grip. I pull it forward and sweep out my leg beneath its feet, knocking it off balance. I use the momentum to bend forwards and throw my attacker over my back and head and into the wall in front of me.

The person flies threw the air and crashes into the wall in front of me with a loud crash. I stand straight upwards and blink a couple of times. OH. MY. BATMAN.

"Oh my god," I say out loud, my mouth opening in complete horror. _What had I just done?_ "Dick Grayson, I am so sorry!" I say in a rush.

Dick Grayson was crumpled up on the side of the wall. His face a mask of shock and discomfort. Well yea, discomfort at being thrown against a wall… in a towel.

His hair was slicked back over his forehead with water droplets falling down his cheeks and ears. One towel was wrapped around the bottom part of his body to his knees and the rest of him was… well uncovered. Water still clung to him like he had just gotten out of the shower.

Oh my God, I just attacked Dick Grayson. _The_ Dick Grayson. Like son of the millionaire Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson.

WTF had I been thinking?

"Oh my god," I repeat again. Then suddenly, I'm bending down to him and grabbing his hand to pull him up. "I am so sorry," I gush repeatedly. "I'm just so sorry."

I get him to his feet and Dick shakes his head in shock, and dowses me in rain droplets from his hair. "I just… reacted. I forgot that I was… here…. And I just…" I say oh so intelligently.

Dick puts up a hand and grins. "Hey don't worry about it I'm okay."

I shake my head. "I just threw you against a wall. I seriously doubt you're _okay_," I argue.

Dick stands up straighter, his head now three inches above mine. "Seriously, I'm fine. I just really didn't expect… that," he says.

I open my mouth to say something, but I shut it instantly afterwards. Probably not a good idea to make things more awkward.

I look up at him and his eyes meet mine when he looks down. A moment passes. He is standing over me, our faces barely five inches apart. I can feel him breathing.

And then I feel a droplet land on my arm from his chest. I look down and I stop breathing. Oh my god he is still in a _towel_.

My eyes widen and I turn on my heel away from him, my back now in front of him. I feel my cheeks flame and I swallow uncomfortably. "I'll just…wait for you outside. Breakfast is in 10 minuets. Be there or be square." I don't look back, but I walk forwards and out of his door into the hallway with a flaming face. _Be there or be square?_ WTH was I thinking?

I close the door behind me and lead against the solid oak with a heavy 'THUD'.

Holy hell, that was… What did I just do? I just attacked a potential business partner's kid! A kid my own age! I put my head in my hands and breathe out slowly. Sometimes, I swear… I was a real nut job.

"Jezebelle?" someone asks from beside me.

I immediately look up and to the left where the voice came from and I stand up straighter. Bruce Wayne. With his undercover woman beside him. Both staring at me.

I straighten myself away from the door. "Oh, Mr. Wayne," I say making sure my face wasn't still red from my latest encounter with my unfortunate moments in my life. "Good to see you're awake."

Bruce's eye go to the door and then to me. "Yes, an alarm clock was placed in my bedroom fortunately, so I was able to wake up on time."

I smile pleasantly. "That's good to know. It would be unfortunate if you missed out on breakfast."

"Yes…" Bruce said looking at the door and then at me again. "…quite fortunate. Tell me, are we waiting for anyone else this morning?" he asks.

I look at the door behind me and then at Mr. Wayne. "Actually yes. We're waiting for-"

Then the door behind me opened. "Sorry about that Jezebelle. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I had just gotten out of the shower and I didn't realize you were- Oh hello Bruce," Dick said coming out of the bedroom and into the hallway with me.

Black Canary or _Dinah_, as she had told me her real name was, was looking wide eyed at me and Dick. "Shower?" she asked with a high voice.

Bruce looked down at me and I noticed for the first time that there were water droplet wet stains from Dick's hair when I had helped him up. Uh-oh.

"Really?" was all he said.

I looked at Dick with panicked eyes. "I- I was to get Dick up from his room and show him to the dining room," I say quickly. "Arriving here so late last night didn't give him the chance to take a tour of the house to see which way he should go, so I was supposed to show him," I explain. "I got here and no one answered when I knocked, so I walked in. And he had just gotten out of the shower…" I say trailing off, noticing everyone had their eyes on me. "But he had a towel on!" I exclaim. "So I just walked out and told him to meet me out here so I could show him to the dining room."

Bruce's eyes found the water droplets on my shirt again and his eyes met mine silently asking for an explanation. Daddy Boss was mad. Opps.

"I uh… bumped into him when I went to check if he was awake," I explain lamely to him. Bruce doesn't leave his eyes from mine. I swallow silently and look at the other people around me. "uh.. okay. This way," I say. I walk past Bruce and Dinah to the hallway behind them to the dining room.

This was going to be… interesting.

Breakfast passed in a flash and before I knew it, it was over. Lex, Bruce and Andres did most of the talking. Only once or twice letting me or Dick in on the conversation. Dinah and the blonde chick at Lex's side never said a word. Although, Lex's blonde companion did leave in the middle of breakfast saying she had a head ache and needed to walk it off… that was pretty much the only interesting thing tht had happened.

The plates were cleared away and I stood up from my chair. Andres turned to me and as did the rest of the small company around us. "Going somewhere?" he asks, looking up at me.

"Horseback riding," I answer. "If, that's okay with you though of course," I say.

Andres hold my eyes and nods once. "Be back by noon. That's when the meeting begins again and I want you back here before it begins," he orders.

I nod once. "Of course." I turn away from the dining room table, smiling slightly at my own luck. Just me, a horse and the flat open spaces all to my-

"And take Mr. Grayson with you," Andres orders from behind me, breaking my imaginary image or grandeur.

Crap. Seriously?

I stop at the door and turn back to the dining room table behind me with every pair of eyes watching me. I don't let any expression become apparent on my face and I raise an eyebrow softly at Dick Grayson. "Coming Mr. Grayson?" I ask. Then I walk away from the dining room opening without a glance backwards.

I hear footsteps following after me, but I continue on to the horse pasture in the back of the house. This just got really awkward for me… What was I supposed to say to this guy after _that_ just happened? Seriously…

I hear the footsteps quicken into a run and I burst out into the horse stables looking for my favorite. The 15 hand Palomino. She was a beauty, with being extremely tall for a horse, and being a gorgeous tan color with white mane and tail, she was not only beautiful but fast as well. Really fast.

And there she was, brushed, cleaned and saddled just for me. With a brown quarter horse next to her, already saddled as well. That ass-hat already had this planned out. I grimace. UGH.

I hear Dick run into the stable behind me. "You could've waited," he grumbled as he came in.

"You had it sorted," I say back, turning to get water bottles from the outside refrigerator. I pick two for me and two for Dick for the ride wherever we were going and then the ride back. I load them into my arms and walk back to my horse.

To find that it's not there. Dick was riding her.

I drop the water bottles. "Oh hell no!" I say to him, making him look down at me sharply from the top of Misty's back. "She's mine!"

"She's beautiful," Dick says instead of getting off my horse. He pets her mane softly and Misty doesn't buck him off. That horse… honestly.

"Yea, and she's mine. Yours is the brown with the white star on his forehead," I say pointing to the other saddled horse.

Dick looks at the horse and then down at me. "Catch me if you can," he says with a smirk. Then he took the reins easily in his hands and guided the horse out of the barn in a fast trot.

"That butt-much," I mutter underneath my breath. I leave the water bottles on the floor and run to the other horse and jump into the saddle with a practiced crouch. I hold onto the reins and lead the horse out of the barn. "Come on Jumper, let's go catch up to the stuck little prat," I say to the horse.

I squeeze onto the sides of the horse, and he immediately responds. He jumps forwards and we are galloping after a hurriedly retreating figure of my horse and Dick ahead of us. I crouch low in the saddle as air blows past me and whips the singular loose strands of my hair across my French braid.

"Come one, faster," I coax the horse beneath me.

Yea, this horse was fast, but Misty was one of the best and this second place runner was having trouble catching up to her. I knew he wasn't going to catch up to her any time soon.

Ahead of me, Dick turns to the left a little, towards a long strip of tall trees.

Wait… tall trees? I stop my horse and I turn around in my saddle to the direction I had just rode away from. There was nothing. Just more planes of grass and a few trees. I couldn't even see the top of the house from here. We must be a longggg way from the house, I think to myself.

We had to start to turn back, I think.

I turn back into my saddle and ride hard after Dick. "Mr. Grayson!" I yell into the wind. "Dick!" I yell louder as Jumper gains speed through the trees. "Mr. Grayson!" I yell as loud as I can.

Ahead of me, I see the white tail of Misty and I tug the reins of my horse after them. "Come on boy, just catch up to –"

My sentence is cut off when I choke on my breath in horror.

In front of me, barely 100 yards away from me, I see the girdle on Dick Grayson's saddle snap mid gallop. The saddle slides to the left and Dick follows, his foot caught in the stirrups.

"Mr. Grayson!" I scream in horror.

Dick continues to fall, but he gets his foot out of the stirrup. He pushes himself away from the stirrup and he jumped off the saddle with a curios amount of graceful practice. It was almost, like it was second nature to him… weird.

Unfortunately, his leap didn't account for the other trees and the rocks on the ground. He landed on his side in a spin and even from my oncoming descent towards him, I heard the sudden "SNAP" of something brake as he hit the ground, on a rock. He continued to roll and his midsection hit the base of a thick tree, effectively stopping his rolls and knocking him out as his face hit the tree bark.

"Mr. Grayson!" I yell loudly. I closed in on his still figure and I jumped off the horse before he came to a complete stop. "Dick!" I yell again as I ran to his still body. Oh for the love of god, please please please don't be dead.

I drop to my knees and pull the unconscious boy into my lap, checking for a heartbeat on his neck. I place my hand on his heck and instantly, I feel a steady amount of blood pumping through his body. Oh good, he didn't die of shock.

I wrap an arm around his shoulders and pull him up closer to me. "Mr. Grayson," I say shaking him lightly. "Dick Grayson, seriously wake up now." I shake him harder. "Dick Grayson!" I yell at him, and I see his eyes move slightly beneath his eyelids. "Dick open your eyes, you can't fall asleep you might have a concussion. DICK!"

And suddenly, his eyes open and he gasps. From shock, pain, or a mixture of both was beyond me. All I cared about was that he wasn't dead. "Oh thank Batman," I say, oxygen returning to my lungs. "I thought you had snapped your neck or something."

Dick looks up at me from my left arm around his shoulders and my other on his chest. "What?" he asks squinting his eyebrows in confusion. "Batman?" he says. He shifts upwards and I feel his breath hiss through his teeth as his body starts to feel the damage of the impact. "My arm…"

I look down at him and wince. Okay, that had to seriously hurt. I didn't even have to touch him to know that his elbow was shattered and three ribs were cracked. The way he was gingerly holding himself already told me enough.

Although it was really weird how he wasn't moaning, or yelling or god forbid crying. He was laying here completely still, and unmoving. Just holding his pain in with clenched teeth. Like he knew what to do when he was in pain. … Weird.

"Just don't move," I say calmly. "Don't make any big movements, and keep your breathing in a rhythm," I order.

Dick looks up at me from my arms and he doesn't say anything. "What are you doing?" he asks, his voice tense and deep.

I gently probe his arm and he hisses in pain. "Fixing your shattered elbow," I say.

"Don't touch me," he says twisting his shoulder as if to get away from me.

I place my hand on his chest. "Mr. Grayson, trust me. I can help you, okay?"

Dick doesn't nod or shake his head, he just stares. "What?" he asks.

I withdraw my hands from him slowly. "I… Dick I need you to keep a secret do you understand?"

Dick turns his head at me. "What?" he asks again, this time in disbelief.

"I… I… Oh forget it. Watch and don't move," I order.

I place my hands on his arm lightly and I close my eyes. Instantly, I feel the broken shards of bones and the busted blood veins raging havoc under the skin. My force of will covers the nerves and silences the throbbing nerve endings in pain. I wash a cool sense of ice threw his hot skin, to numb his arm and I immediately begin to fix his broken bones.

Several pieces of broken bones. I guide the bones to mend and the cartilage to heal itself. I move on to his joint and I feel the strained tissues pull across the newly mended bones. I push my will to the tissues and guide the cells to multiply into healing the stretched tissues.

Someone touches my face. I jerk out of his arm and I open my eyes in a flash. Dick gasps in pain as I pull out of his muscles and forget to leave behind the cool numbing effect behind as well. It wasn't all the way healed.

"What just…" I ask putting my hand up to my face. Piece of lose hair that had been on my forehead was now tucked behind my ear. What the…

"Sorry," Dick says. "You were sitting there for a couple of minuets and that piece of hair was bugging me…"

"So you move it?"

"I had to. It wasn't going to move itself."

"But I was in the middle of healing yo- … you…" I say almost catching myself.

Dick meets my eyes. "I know, I could feet it, and kinda see it under my skin. You were fixing broken bones," he states.

I watch his face for his reaction. Nothing. "And you're not… creeped out?" I ask.

Dick widens his eyes. "Why would I be? The fall hurt. You're helping me… I see no down side in this arrangement."

"I… Just don't move while I fix the rest of it okay? I mean, unless you want a half fixed shattered arm."

Dick smiles. "Naw, I'm good. Go on ahead," he says and lays his head down on the pine needled ground like it was the most comfortable position in the world.

I don't even roll my eyes, and I place my hands on his arm again. Sooner than later, his arm is close to perfect, and I'm about to remove my hands to move on to the cracked ribs, when I notice something. I let my subconscious fall to his hands and I feel my insides tensing. His fingers…. And his wrist…

There were small fractures all over his wrist muscles and finger bones. They were small, smaller than a paper cut, but there were dozens of them. All of them were healed, or mostly healed, but the scars were still implanted on the muscle and the tissue and nerves. It was like he was hitting things with his bare fist… repeatedly. Or someone was hitting him… repeatedly.

I lift my hands from his arm and I place them on his chest with a heavy suspicion weighing down on me. I sink down and fix his cracked ribs like it was second nature to me now, and I move my conscious to his other arm.

Sure enough, there were old and new markings of wounds. Some hadn't even healed all the way. How he was still moving without pain was beyond me… I sink lower and guide my conscious to his bones, muscles, tissues, and cells that cried out for my touch. First through his left arm, then his shoulders and through his torso, which, might I say, was well toned on the muscle side. Healing everything I could find that wasn't perfect.

There was just so much.

My suspicion turned into a liable theory. Someone was beating him. Repeatedly.

And last time I checked, Dick only had one parent, no siblings and no real enemies that I could think of. At least, that could hurt him this badly, repeatedly.

So, my mind and eyes filled with anger at every fading, old or new wound I found.

I had just totally lost all respect for Bruce Wayne. He was responsible for this. Who _beats_ their kid this badly?

I pushed on for what seemed like ten more minuets before I felt my head bobbing forward and my shoulders collapsing downwards.

Uh-oh, that wasn't a good sign.

The world started to spin around me.

"Mr. Grayson…," I whispered leaning forwards over his body completely off balance; then I saw spots… and then blackness.

Ah crap.

* * *

><p>"Miss Jezebelle?" someone's voice said through the thick fog in my mind. Was my head hitting something? Was I bouncing?<p>

"Grayson?"

"Hold on Miss Jezebelle, we're almost there," his voice says to me from behind me.

My head hit against something hard, yet soft at the same time.

"Where…" I say heavily. Why was it so hard for me to breathe?

"Don't speak unless you have to Miss. You completely over exhausted yourself back there," his voice says again.

I feel my head lean back and then bounce again against the hard yet soft thing behind me. Was that Dick Grayson? Was I leaning against his chest?

I suck in a deep breath and force my heavy eyelids open, and then instantly shut them again. Bad idea. But I had gotten the information I had wanted.

We were on a brown horse. Jumper probably. We were riding. How I got on the saddle, or why Dick was holding the reins from behind me with me leaning against him was beyond me. What the heck happened?

I recognize the bouncing as the horse running at a fast canter and I let myself fall completely against Dick behind me. I try to force my eyelids open, but they weighed a ton. I couldn't even twitch them. Actually, I could barely move my own body.

I order my hand to go into a fist, and I get my pointer finger to curl lightly.

This is when my brain interprets this as _really bad. _

If I couldn't even move, good God, what had I been doing again? Healing? Why didn't I stop? I remembered back to the fractures and mostly healed old wounds on Dick and feel a pit of heat enter my stomach.

Oh, that's why.

The horse bounces again and I'm thrown against Dick. "Srry.." I hear myself say automatically.

Dick didn't seem to care. "Just hang on Jezebelle. We're almost there," he says.

There? I feel the horse suddenly stop and I hear a voice call out from a distance ahead of me, "What happened?" A guard. I knew that voice. He had two kids and a wife twenty seven years old. Enrik. His name was Enrik.

"Get help, she's barely breathing!" Dick called from behind me. I feel my back meet air, and then the saddle move to the right. Dick had gotten off the horse. I feel myself fall backwards, but my arms are too heavy to stop my fall backwards.

I fall backwards, and I know I'm falling out of the saddle.

Then suddenly, thick bands of steel are wrapped around my shoulders and under my knees. I'm pulled the rest of the way off the horse by my catcher. "Just hold on Miss Jezebelle," Dick's voice says from just above me. So Mr. Grayson caught me.

What a little hero.

I felt him running and then the bouncing jerks of him going up steps. I use all my strength and crack open an eye. We were back at the house. Oh good. My eye falls close again and I feel myself fall deeper into a waiting fog in my subconscious.

I feel the blast of a heater pass by me and I know we are in the house.

Then suddenly, I hear running footsteps. And not of just one man, I mean A LOT of footsteps. All running. Was I imagining this?

"What happened!" I hear the voice of Karina somewhere ahead of me. I feel Mr. Grayson stop and my head flops down over his arm useless. This must look oh so wonderful.

"We were out by the forest and the girdle on the saddle broke," Dick answered.

What? That was YOU dip-stick! Honestly, making me look like I had lost control of the situation, when this was all clearly YOUR fault.

When I can move my jaw Mr. Grayson, beware, I will have a talk with you!

"What?" I hear Andres's voice ask from somewhere to my left.

"The strap just… broke. Mid-step. She fell off and I rode her straight back here, but she's been unresponsive so far," Dick said continuing on with his false story.

There was a silence that spread out throughout the room like a blanket had fallen over all of them.

"Mr. Grayson, Mr. Wayne, Karina, with me please. Gentlemen, we will continue on in the dining room after this has been sorted. Refreshments will be served in the meantime," Andres said somewhere to the left again.

I feel Dick respond immediately, and he shifts his arms, so my head is now on his chest. God Darn it, open eyes. OPEN!

Nice try, but no cigar.

My eyes stay glued shut and so does my jaw. God it was like I was paralyzed, but I could hear everything around me. Actually, that _was_ what was happening.

I hear a lot of echoed footsteps begin to leave to the right while Grayson made his way to the right, following after three… four pairs of footsteps. I was guessing that the fourth pair of shoes was Dinah. It was a guess, but I was pretty sure I was right.

"Inside here," I hear Andres order ahead of me somewhere. To the right now.

We step into a room, and I heard the footsteps echo as they all walked across maple oak floors. So we were in Andres's study.

"Set her down there," Andres orders now close to my right.

Mr. Grayson responds, and I feel myself being lowered onto leather. Ah, the couch. My head flops to the right, uncontrollable.

"Now tell me what really happened," I hear Andres's voice has gone from business like to cold and ridged. Yikes, that's no bueno. Yea Dick, you can deal with this. I'm perfectly content being seemingly unconscious right about now.

"I told you-"

"You were lying to protect something. Tell me what really happened, and don't hide anything. This could affect her life."

There was a silence, and I felt a small chill travel up my back. I wonder what was going on.

"I was riding her horse. We got to the forest, and the girdle broke mid gallop. I fell off and …" there was a pause from Dick. "I was hurt pretty badly."

Wait a second, that girdle is like pure leather, checked and oiled everyday. How did someone NOT notice it was tearing or strained?

"And then?" Andres presses.

"And then she helped me. She _healed_ me. I was pretty sure my arm was broken in several places and my ribs and head was throbbing." There was another pause. "Then she bent over me and thirty minuets later, I felt fine."

"She healed you?" This time it was Bruce who spoke from somewhere in front of me. "Are you sure you weren't still dazed from your fall?" he asked skeptically in a perfect playboy attitude.

Hold on, how did anyone know I was riding today? I mean, I was only talking about it last night. The only people that were there was Me, Karina, Andres and ….

"Let him speak Mr. Wayne, he has seen her gift and there is nothing I can do to take it back," Andres said.

I need my lips to open.

"It was a secret?" Bruce asked.

I need to tell them! My energy pools and I try and open my eyes, but I can't break through the mist around me. I can't believe this…

"And now it's not, but I would advise you to keep to the original story Mr. Grayson told. We have had a difficult time shaking off Jezebelle's stalkers, and we have only just gotten rid of them."

Okay Jezebelle, concentrate. You can do this, just breath in and out and focus on moving your body, it's just like working on some other patient, only it's just-

"Stalkers?" Dick's voice asked in disbelief.

My concentration breaks. OHHH no don't tell them!

"People followed her before she came into my home that took pictures of her and followed her through countries. They were stalking her."

There was an uncomfortable silence in the room. What was going on?

"Continue your story Mr. Grayson, then what happened?" Andres asked.

"Nothing. She just kept going, and I began to feel better and better. Suddenly, she looked up and she just… she passed out. I picked her up, got the horse and headed straight back here."

Silence. Perfect time for you! Break through the mist now!

Almost.

"She over exhausted herself." It was Andres's voice.

"But-" It was dicks voice.

"When she heals people, like yourself Mr. Grayson, she spends her energy to unnaturally heal your wound. Healing takes energy and she spent too much of herself on you. So she collapsed. It's the only thing that makes sense."

"So.. she's just unconscious?" Dick's voice again.

"She'll be fine if that was your question, Mr. Grayson. She just needs sleep, and time to re energize."

FOCUS. No pain. I felt my heartbeat run through my veins and I lifted my eye open slowly. Uh-oh, I was only going to be able to do this for a little while.

In front of me, Andres was at my right, and across from him was Dick, Bruce and sure enough Dinah, all looking at Andres in silence.

"Andres," I whispered. My voice was heard in the emptiness and all eyes turned to me.

"Jezebelle," was his immediate response.

Stay awake. Stay awake.

"Girdle …. Snapped.." I manage to breathe out quietly. GOD JAW MOVE! Why wasn't my body responding to me?

I see Andres nod and my eyes flutter close. NO NONO. Open them up NOW!

My eyes shift open a little. "No… Girdle was cut…" I say, a little louder this time. God come on, get what I'm trying to say here, this is important! LISTEN TO ME!

My eyelids fall down a little and I know I can't hold on much longer. Don't fall asleep… Don't fall….

"Someone tried to kill me," I say out loud as my eyes fall lower, stopping the image of them in front of them.

And then, remembering what I had thought about, I whisper almost too softly for me to hear, "Luthor."

And then darkness, blacker than the darkest street avenue swept into my mind and closed off all my senses. Ah crap, now I really over did it.

And then, nothing.

* * *

><p><strong>OOOO Luthor is trouble now...<strong>

**So a little perspective jump from one character to another. **

**For the haterz out there, my story, my plot, my (okay not so much mine) charecters do what they want. **

**Now, suggestions are always appreciated, but i will tell you nicely right now that bashing me on a review isn't going to help your cause for making me write something you want me to write. **

**:D**

**Okay! ONWARDS!**

**Thanks, to the other reviewers for your comments, always lifts me up :)**

**UP next: Feelings between ? and ?, Luthor gets smacked across the face, and then, a really big SURPRISE:)**

**hahah what now.**

**PS for the reviewer that was wondering when Superboy comes in, ... you'll see :)**


	21. Chapter 21

**WARNING: might be a little sad. SOoooooOOOoOoOrry ...**

**Disclaimer: I own nothin. If i did, well i can only dream right?**

* * *

><p>Dinah watched as the brunette's head hit the sofa cushion under her.<p>

Luthor. There was only one Luthor that Jezebelle had been talking about.

"Lex Luthor," Dick said out loud, staring at the unconscious girl before him.

Dinah said nothing, and the room stayed silent as well.

Andres stared at the girl on his sofa with a blank face, but his eyes were narrowed into slits and his jaw was clenched together so hard, he could break stones.

"We don't know for sure. We only know that is what Jezebelle thinks happened. It is possible that that never actually happened, and it only seems Luthor is guilty," Bruce announced in the silence.

"It wasn't Luthor's hand," Andres said after Bruce. "Luthor would never dirty his own hands for a crime."

Dick turned around from the sleeping girl and towards Andres. "Then who?"

"His woman," Andres answered immediately. "Luthor was with us when Jezebelle asked to go riding, and there was no time for him to get near the saddles at that time. But, there was time to go and cut the leather of the saddle while everyone was eating, and the horses had already been prepared to ride."

Dick caught on with level eyes. "And the blonde woman had gone 'to the bathroom' at that time as well."

Andres nodded. "Exactly. It was the only time anyone could have gotten near the horses and cut the girdle."

Bruce looked over at Andres. "Condemning a man such as Lex about this could leave you in a bad place among the other men in your home."

Andres met his eyes. "I am well aware of the cautions that Mr. Luthor carries, but he has attacked one of my own."

Bruce remained impassive, Dinah's eyes widened from beside Bruce. He was protective over his successor by quite a large margin. She narrowed her eyes slightly. A little too protective. She didn't like the way he had said 'one of my own'. Like she was his, more than a business partner.

Dick looked between the two men in front of him, his eyes missing Dinah's expression. "Lex won't admit to this, and if he does, he will blame it all on his … girlfriend."

Andres looked over to Dick and then back to Bruce. Of course, the child was right. "We will have to do nothing at this point in time. When we have … sufficient evidence, then we will deal with Luthor."

Dick looked down at Jezebelle. "But what if he-"

Bruce interrupted his protégé. "This is Andres's choice. Jezebelle is his responsibility and the decisions he places about her health are his to make."

Dick glanced at Bruce in slight surprise. Huh. "Then what do we do now?" he turned his attention back to Andres.

Andres didn't look down at Dick, but t Jezebelle. "We head back to those who are waiting for us."

* * *

><p>The meeting had gone well, considering everything that night. Jezebelle hadn't been there, and the place beside Andres's chair haunted Andres with a cold chill. He ignored the empty seat and the empty feeling in the pit of his stomach every time his eyes wavered past the empty chair. And to prove his own stubborn resolution, Andres repeatedly met Luthor's cool eyes with a steel faced expression, closing his feelings at the powerful man for Jezebelle's sake. He was truly a man not to be dealt with half heartedly. Lex Luthor was a very powerful man.<p>

Andres dismissed the meeting and watched from the corner of his eye as Luthor stood up with ease. Then again, Andres was also a dangerous man.

Luthor had hurt Jezebelle.

Andres had no doubts that Jezebelle had known for sure that it had been Luthor, or she would not have told him. She was smart that way, and he had grown to take her words seriously. Deathly seriously when it came to important matters these days.

And if she was right about his, Andres was going to have Luthor's head on a platter for this.

He had hurt her. The image of the Grayson boy holding her in his arms up his house steps, her head and nose bleeding, and her face paler than the moon.

The image was scarring. He would have Luthor's head. He would have it roasted and fed to the dogs for this.

Dinah walked alone down the long hallway of Andres's home towards her bedroom. She rounded a corner with tight hands and breathed deeply. She had just come back from the stables and in her left hand hung a single strand of long blonde hair. Bruce had found it, and Dinah had shown it to Andres moments afterwards. She hung on to it like it was the executioners axe in a prisons killing room.

Not even her second day here and Jezebelle had already been hurt beyond… the image of Jezebelle's pale skin and bleeding face of her coming up the house steps too exhausted to move came to Dinah's mind.

Her fingers tightened subconsciously over her fists. She needed to hit something. She needed to hit something _now_.

And then, she saw him. He was standing over a large glasses window, looking over the pasture and the horses at the back of the house. Lex. Lex Luthor.

Dinah narrowed her eyes so far down, she was surprised she didn't have tunnel vision at this point.

She stepped forwards lightly, her movements not making a sound, her breathing quieter than the breeze of the heater in the house. She made no noise, and her movements held no threat as she walked towards him, closer and closer.

She was directly behind him. His shoulders tensed lightly, as he finally realized someone was near him and his front turned towards Dinah in a smooth motion. He turned his body towards her. His eyes met hers and his mouth opened to say something.

Before Dinah could blink, her hand was up and back. Luthor saw her fast motion, but was too slow to stop the loud and echoed 'SLAP' that came down on his face and caused his entire head to turn in a one-eighty.

Dinah's nails raked over his skin and she released his face of her hand when he was turned all the way around from her again. Like he had first been.

Luthor's eyes widened.

His hand instinctively went to his face, and he turned to his attacker with shock on his face. She had just _hit_ him. _Hit_ him. HIM.

"You-" he said in shock and outrage. She had _hit_ him!

"-Ever touch Jezebelle Morolass again, and this taste of my anger will be the least of your problems Mr. Luthor," Dinah said with cold eyes, and concrete steel in her voice.

Luthor's expression turned guarded. "I have no idea what you are proposing that-"

"Don't play games with me Luthor," Dinah interrupted, her eyes never left his and sucked the small warmth from his soul. "You ever play with her life again, and I will not be so nice."

Luthor's eyebrows came down and his eyes lit with a challenging fire. "Listen woma-"

Dinah turned her back on him and walked with quick steps away from the man, completely ignoring Lex and making him stop his countering threat.

Did she just slap _the_ Luthor and then _turn her back on him_?

Luthor snorted in shocking disbelief. He would see the little *itch dead on a corner like the place she had come from when they were back in the states. He would see to it himself.

"Come back here!" he yelled at the retreating figure. She didn't even pause.

"I said-!"

"Find someone else to do your dirty work for you next time Luthor. And make sure she keeps her hair up," Dinah said half turning her face to the bald man behind her. She led up the blond string of hair in the sunlight and watched as Luthor took in the threatened statement. "You might twist the story in the eyes of a judge and jury, but not to other business men who know you best." She dropped her hand and held onto the strand of hair with tight fingers. She turned her face to the front and started walking again. "Andres will not be the only one to exact revenge on you Luthor. She has more than one powerful person looking over her, be sure of that." And then Dinah was gone behind a corner of the hall, and left the echoes of her footsteps behind her as her only remembrance.

Luthor stood with his eyes wide and his hand still on his cheek in shock. That was… that had been… unbelievable.

How dare she! The likes of some common whore hitting him! And then accusing him!

His mind clicked into place in an instant.

If she suspected him, then Andres… and Bruce Wayne must also as well.

Lex half turned back to the window. They had no proof. They couldn't possibly pin it on-

The blonde strand of hair Wayne's woman had… His eyes widened and he immediately went after the woman with the sharp fingernails. He had to get that piece of hair. That stupid woman!

* * *

><p>Andres watched Jezebelle sleep on the center sofa as he filed paperwork for the following day of meetings. The last day.<p>

Another piece of paperwork stood out from the rest, and Andres stared it down with a critical eye. It was insanity to even consider this...

Karina walked in the door. "_Should we move her to her rooms Sir?" s_he said looking at the unconscious girl.

Andres looked down at the sleeping girl again and shook his head. _"Let her sleep here tonight. She will be too tired to move when she wakes... if she wakes in the next few days."_

Karina nodded to him and then looked at Jezebelle again. "_She will be fine Sir. She's strong."_

Andres didn't say anything to that. And then stared at the piece of paper again.

Karina looked at the paper and then at Andres's expression, and she hid a small smile. She cleared her throat, making him look at her and she nodded to the entrance.

"_Bruce Wayne and his son want to talk to you,"_ Karina informed him as she stepped closer to the wooden door at the opening of the office.

_"Is the brunette haired woman there as well?"_ he asked, his eyes meeting Karina's. Karina nodded. "_Let them all in."_

* * *

><p>I saw shapes. And colors.<p>

Shapes and colors of all sizes flashed in front of my eyes, making a tornado of vivid seconds of emotions and images. I saw blonde hair, brown skin, needles, fences taller than me, blue eyes, glowing hands, money stacks, the curve of a smooth cheek bone, and running bare feet.

Then blood. So much blood that it became an ocean filling my mouth, clogging my lungs and drowning my screams of fear. So much fear and blood that my world turned red and the sky turned black with maroon clouds smudged with violet shadows. My head went under a wave of blood and desperate arms flung out to keep me a float in vain.

Lightning stuck the background and warmth was sucked from the air, my body and the little I had left in my terrified soul. I was dying.

...

* * *

><p>Andres, Karina, Bruce, Dick and Dinah all sat in the room.<p>

"No, we can not just send it to the police," Andres told Bruce Wayne. "He will turn the story around to the woman he sleeps with for all guilt."

"But what if we got the DNA from the woman and put the connection that Luthor was paying the woman off to-" Dick started to argue.

From behind the group of people in the study, the unconscious girl moved and murmured in her sleep.

Talking stopped and eyes turned to the girl on the sofa.

"Is she okay?" Dinah asked, mostly to herself.

"She is strong. She will be fine, just tired," Karina answered in a thick accent to the brunette woman.

The group of people turned back to their discussion.

Jezebelle's eyes behind her eyelids rolled from one side to the other.

* * *

><p>...<p>

Dying and I could do nothing, but watch myself drown in the thick mass of slick redness and chunks of broken skin.

And then, a blonde head levates from the waves and into the air followed by a small, skinny body. Her body was untouched by the blood she rose from, but her head was down cast looking at the waves beneath her hypnotized.

"Miranda!" I scream as blood fills my throat and forces it's way to my lungs, pulling me into its depths and darkness. "Miranda help me!" I scream as loud as I possibly could to the floating girl. She would help me, she would save me from drowning…

...

* * *

><p>"Miranda!"<p>

The sudden scream fills the air in the office and eyes widen. Karina's cup of water drops to the floor and glass shatters.

Eyes turn to her, wide but unseeing. What just...

Bruce looked behind him with Dick behind him a second behind with expressions of foreshadow open on their faces.

* * *

><p>...<p>

Her head turns upwards. Her closed eyes open to me.

And I feel blood consume me. There was nothing in her eyes except the whites of her eyes. No color, no pupil and no light. Just whiteness.

Blood grabs my wrists and weighs me down, my shoulders falling under the next wave and lightning crashing beside me, singeing my clothes. "…Miranda…" I yell, but am drowned out by the thunder that covers my ears.

She sees me, and her face turns to me. "Jezebelle!" she screams in agony with a twisted and broken voice. Her white eyes get smaller and red tears fill her eyes. Blood.

Her hand reaches out to me from the sky she hovered in and blood pours down from her eyes.

"Jezebelle help me! Help me!" she screams, her voice breaking and thunder crushing my conscious. Her hands reach for me desperately, and I fight the waves that push me down merciless.

I look up. Her hand reaches down to me. Inches from my face. All I have to do is grab on. But the thick and heavy blood holds me back. "Miranda!" I scream back to her, pushing my joints out of their sockets to touch my sister's hands. "Miranda wait for me!" I scream, breaking my voice in agony.

But my sister is moving away from me. She is being pulled backwards from me by an invisible force.

"Jezebelle!" her voice breaks in terror as more blood pores down her pale cheeks. "Jezebelle I'm dying!" she screams, her voice louder than the thunder and lightning and the waves.

...

* * *

><p>"Miranda!"<p>

Everyone is out of there seats. Andres gets up and was beside Jezebelle in an instant. "Jezebelle," he said softly. Everyone walks next to Andres and waits on the sidelines, all traces of smiles of humor gone. There were stony expressions and Dick stared at Jezebelle's twitching form with a clenched jaw.

"Jezebelle wake up," Andres said. He reached out to her to wake her up and when his hands touched her skin, Jezebelle screamed again.

"Miranda wait for me!" she screamed, her voice breaking in a word that could only be defined as agony.

Dick flinched, and Bruce put his hand on Dick's shoulder. "Dick why don't you-"

"No," Dick interrupted. "No, i'll be fine."

* * *

><p>...<p>

"Wait for me!" I scream still softer compared to her; reaching out to her as I am pulled under a wave and blood pours down my tongue and between my teeth. I kick ferociously, and break into the red and maroon air. Blood pours into my eyes and I see the red tinted image of Miranda.

She pulls away farther from me, and her wide eyes cries out harder. Blood follows the curve of her cheek bones and down the curve of her chin. Her hand reaches for me, and suddenly she screams a single high note, that reaches above all of the thunder, the noise of the sloshing waves and the screams of my own.

Her scream silences the world, and blood from her eyes travels down her neck, her shoulders, her arms and falls off the outstretched fingers of her hand. Her one scream breaks the waves and splits the red sun in the sky. It pushes me into the blood and I look up at the thick shadows above me in the blood and I see her outline, still curved in the air of agony.

* * *

><p>Jezebelle convulses in her sleep and her head snaps upwards, her eyes rolling crazily in her head. "Wait for me!" she screams.<p>

Dinah stares wide eyed, wanting to push the man away, but knowing at this point in time, she would only be thrown out if she did.

And then, suddenly, Jezebelle screamed.

It was one scream. But it didn't stop. It started loud and then got to ear splintering, when her voice expressed her sadness, her hurt, her anger... her pain.

Dick felt as if he was drowning. Her pain, he wanted it to stop, to go away. Images flashed in his mind. Of bodies falling from the sky in her scream of agony. Falling... Falling... Falling and-

"JEZEBELLE!" Andres shouted, placing his hands on her shoulders and shaking her to reality in desperation.

From beside him, Karina stood with tears streaming down her face in silent terror.

Dick clenched his fists together, watching.

* * *

><p>...<p>

Her hands reach to the sky and her mouth drops open farther. "JEZEBELLE!" she screams.

And the world explodes in fire, blood and the noise of thunder

...

My eyes open wide in a flash and I gasp for air, pulling myself upwards into a sitting position on the sofa. The blood…. The blood… The fire…. The thunder… The blood.

Something screams at me, but I am only breathing to stay alive. She was there! My baby was there, and she was hurt! Someone had my baby!

Inhale and exhale.

Something screams, no, a someone screams at me. I turn my head and I see a dark skinned man looking at me. He has his hands on my shoulders and he's shaking me. My head flops back and forth in front of him. He is hurting me.

But someone has my baby. I had to leave. My baby…

"Miranda," I whisper to the man. He needed to know. I had to go. He had to let me go get my baby.

The man stops shaking me. "Jezebelle. Look at me, no, into my eyes." I do. "My name is Andres Alarico. Your trainer, business partner and mentor. Look at me and remember Jezebelle. Miranda is dead. She has been for eight months. LOOK at ME!" his voice, his mouth says to me.

My baby… my-

A cold rush enters my heart and the pit of my stomach heaves.

I look at the man and blink. Andres.

I drop my head and blink several times as the cold washes over my eyes and my mind. Andres Alarico. Miranda. Dead. Eight months.

I shake my head and swallow as reality sets back in. I blink several times again and look up. Andres's face is close to me and I stare into his eyes. "Andres?" I ask, my voice no more than a whisper.

Andres nods to me, his eyes still holding mine in a steel gaze.

I don't remember what happened, but I remember putting my hands out and placing them on Andres's tailored jacket and grabbing fistfuls of his material. And then tears falling down my face in rivers. My shoulders jerking and heaving as sobs tore out of me and my head hanging down on his chest in agony.

"Leave us," I heard Andres say to the room. Others were there. But I didn't care anymore.

Tears flowed down my face and words ripped through my teeth. "Blood…. So much blood," I say in shaking sobs. "Miranda."

There were no words back to me, but a hand on my back. Then two hands on my back and pressing me closer to the chest I was sobbing on.

"She w-was crying b-blood," I choke out in a sob. "And I couldn't –" I break off and my shoulders shake fiercely. "I couldn't move to her. I l-let her die."

There were no circles of comfort, just stone hands that held me and let me cry. That let me sob to them.

"Calla mi pequeña mariposa. Usted voló en alas de los sueños. Nada más," Andres's voice says from above my head. _Hush my little butterfly. You flew on wings of dreams. Nothing more. _

I feel my tears run harder down my face. "No, she was there. I felt it." I press my head against his chest harder. "Ella gritó para que yo la ayude." _She screamed for me to help her. _I shake my head and sink farther. "And I let her die."

There was silence and then arms of thick steel wrapped around me. Arms of protection, arms that promised safety. "Su hermana murió de amarte mariposa. Eso fue todo lo que alguna vez hubo entre ustedes dos. Amor." _Your sister died loving you butterfly. That was all there ever was between you two. Love. _

Silence. "You did no wrong."

And then I cried. I cried more than I had cried when she had first died. I cried that eventually, my stomach collapsed and my arms dropped to my side like led. I was so tired… My eyes glued themselves shut, and I never remembered me falling asleep on the chest of Andres Alarico in front of me.

* * *

><p>Andres laid the girl back down onto the sofa carefully, moving her hair away from her tear streaked face. His thumb wiped a stray tear away from her closed lids and pressed his hands down her hair. He kept his hand there for a moment before backing away slowly.<p>

_"You can come in Karina, I know you're there,_" Andres said slowly.

From behind the library shelves, Karina stepped into the light and towards the two figures near the sofa. "_Her dreams..._" Karina asked.

"_Hold her hands,_" Andres ordered with a nod of his chin.

Karina glanced at Andres, and then sat beside the girl. "_She..._" Karina tried again.

"_Needs you to hold her_," Andres ordered.

Karina nodded slowly. "_Of course._"

Andres stepped to his desk and pulled out that single piece of paper he had been staring at earlier.

Could he?

Did he have the right to ask for so much?

"_Andres!"_ Karina's voice said urgently.

Andres put up a hand for silence to her. The paper held his attention, all of it with its black printed words.

He had never thought he would...

It would change so much...

Could he ... Could he really?

"_Andres_," Karina voice said urgently.

Andres's pen came up to the paper, and then moved away again.

He placed it on the signature line, and moved it away again... back and forth. Back and forth again and again.

"_ANDRES!" _Karina practically yelled at him.

Andres snapped his head upwards and gave Karina a cold stare. "_What?"_ he asked, his patience running out to the thinnest line it had been in a long time.

"_Listen..."_ Karina ordered, her hands pointing down to the sleeping girl.

Andres looked down and waited. What was so important tat it had to interrupt him make a decision that could probably change the rest of his-

"...Andres..." Jezebelle's voice said from her sleepy lips. "...safe..."

Karina looked up at Andres with watery eyes. "_Thats all she's ever wanted Sir. She wanted safety and she got it from you tonight._" Her head dropped to the sleeping girl. "_Now even in her dreams, she express her gratitude and her happiness after the night terrors tortured her." _

__Andres watched the girl with wide eyes. This was the first time he had felt...

He pressed the paper to the study desk and signed his signature on the line in a steady stroked flourish. Now he knew he made the right decision.

He was going to do this, for whatever time he had left.

He glanced down at the paper and the words "ADOPTION" seemed to shine at him from the paper.

He glanced upwards and he saw Karina was staring at him with a small smile on her face. "_You are going to be happy?"_

__Andres sighed and pressed two fingers to the bridge of his nose. "_It will depend on what She says when she finds out." _

Karina and Andres turned to Jezebelle as one and watched as his future successor and now legal daughter slept peacefully on the sofa.

* * *

><p><strong>Bet you didn't see that comin huh?<strong>

**Sorry if it was a bit dark for you guys in the middle with the dream and all...**

**UP NEXT: Jezebelle finds out some surprising news, Luthor gets thrown out, and ANOTHER SURPRISE!**

**be warned, my surprises might not actually be a good thing... 0.o**

**~missmusicluver**

**REVIEW!**


	22. Chapter 22

Lex felt the back of his shirt being pulled back before he felt his feet leave the ground.

The next thing he knew, he was flying through the air and smashing against the concrete wall behind him. His head hit the concrete, and black spots immediately spread to his vision. He drew his lips apart in a snarl and his hands clenched in fists.

Who dared!

He looked upwards and blinked the spots from his eyes furiously. His eyes met the figure who had threw him and his eyes widened.

He didn't even know this man. This very tall and very built man.

He stood at maybe 6'4 and had arms that looked like they could bend metal. He had black hair and a thin mustache on his upper lip. Brown eyes, thin lips, and dimpled chin; the man looked like a typical figure you would see in prison for first degree murder.

"What the hel-" Lex shouted at the man.

"Jezebelle Morolass," the man stated. He had a very deep voice, with no emotion behind it. Just cold and official.

Lex got up slowly and wiped blood away from the back of his head. "Who do you think you are? Do you know who I am? I'll sue you for even touching me you-"

"You tried to kill Jezebelle Morolass."

Lex met the strange man's eyes. "What are you talking about you dolt? I will have you thrown in jail for this and-"

"I am not interested in your half-baked threats Luthor. You tried to kill a pupil of mine. You have dishonored her and my name by your intentions and it's time you left the premises before you get hurt even more." The man crossed his hands over his chest like a rock.

Lex narrowed his eyes. "Is that a threat?"

"A warning."

"I don't know who you are, but you don't know who you're dealing with. Andres will-"

"Congratulate me for handling the man who hurt his daughter."

Lex widened his eyes. Daughter? "Andres doesn't have a daughter. And I didn't do anything to Miss Morolass."

"Jezebelle Morolass is Andres's daughter. And you have threatened her life by trying to get her killed. He isn't happy, Bruce Wayne isn't happy, Dick Grayson isn't happy and I am not happy. You have upset a lot of people Mr. Luthor and you are no longer welcome to stay here under Andres's orders."

Lex sneered at the man. "Andres wouldn't dare. He and I need each other to much. I don't know who you really work for, but I've had enough of this. If you leave me now, I won't have you killed."

The man… smiled. If that's what you would call it. His lips thinned and his cheeks lifted, but the expression wasn't of happiness, it was of sick amusement.

"I would be happy to show you to the door."

Lex grimaced. "Didn't you hear me you thick man? I will not go-"

The man grabbed the front of Lex's new suit and pulled him into the air. "No, you didn't hear me. I said leave."

The last thing Lex saw was his feet being pulled off the ground and his head smashing threw the glass of the window beside him. Then, he was falling… falling… and his back crashed against green grass. Images and flashes of light hit his eyes, but the image was blurry and distorted.

He saw two of everything, and that included the face of the man who was somehow now right above him. "You were asked to leave," the man's deep voice said.

"Who are … you?" Lex asked, his lungs still trying to grasp air from the fall.

The man laughed. "You may call me …Sir."

Then Sir grabbed the front of Lex's jacket and pulled him to his feet one handed. "Your plane is already waiting for you Mr. Luthor. Andres sends his regards and his appointed feelings for you never to show your face in his country again."

Images danced in front of Lex's face again as he somehow made his way from the spot where he had fallen to the side of the house and beyond. Thirty minuets later he was in his plane, a massive head ache wrapped around his forehead and a nuclear-bombed ego that was getting smaller and smaller as his plane flew him away from Andres's house.

* * *

><p>Sunlight smacks me in the face and blinds me when I open my eyes the next morning. I blink ferociously and shake the sleep from my mind. Last night…<p>

I look up and see I'm alone in Andres's study. So it all was real. Dick Grayson falling, the dream, me crying like that… all of it was real. I guess some part of me was really hoping it was all just a very, very, very bad dream.

Not with the freaking luck I manage to attract.

I pull myself up into a sitting position on the couch and rub my eyes. I look around the room and I notice a silver tray with water for me on the side of the couch. And a pair of sweats with a tank top.

I get up slowly, and I feel my muscles cry out in pain. I stretch my arms upwards, and a sore tingling sensation spreads itself up my sides and legs. Good Batman, how long had I been out?

I grab the silver tray with water and chug the contents down my throat. I wipe my mouth with my arm. I still had on my Flash shirt, and looking down at myself, I saw that I had new rips, dirt stains and strangely enough, blood that had dried to a brown color on my jeans.

How long exactly had I been asleep?

I peel off my Flash shirt and pull on the blue tank top and then take off the ripped and bloodied jeans to put on the black sweat pants. I drop the old clothes on the floor and look around the room again. No one was there, no one had left me anything.

I walk to the oak desk, maybe Andres had left a letter or instructions for what he wanted now that I was awake. My eyes take in random pieces of paper, newsletters from several different companies, a bill for electricity (holy shiz that was a lot of zero's) and a folded piece of paper in the corner with wrinkled edges.

Now, being in Andres's study… wrinkled pieces of paper just don't appear on his desk. He was kind of OCD about wrinkled or torn paper containing information, much less actually daring to touch his desk. It just didn't happen.

So I got curious.

I picked up the piece of paper carefully and unfolded the edges with a soft hand. The paper opened up to me and my eyes glanced across the bold printed letters with curiosity.

And then my jaw sort of dropped, like you always see in the cheesy 1950's styled movies.

The document was in Spanish, but I was pretty sure I was reading it right.

My eyes first caught only a couple of words, just glancing over it half butted, but instantly, I caught a couple of all too familiar words as well.

Like my name.

And Andres's name.

And then the word "ADOPTION" kind of jumped out at me too.

I zoomed back up to the top of the paper and blinked a couple of times. How had I not seen this? Adoption?

I looked back over the words and the small paragraphs with careful eyes. Line after line, my eyes got a little wider and my mouth dropped a little lower on my face. I finished reading the information and the paper slipped between my numb fingers and hit the floor noiselessly.

No. Freaking. Way.

I turn on my heel and bring my hands up to my eyes. I swallow a couple of times and shake my head. No No No No No No No No. This just couldn't actually happen. The words and the information of the single piece of paper come smashing back into my mind and I drop to my knees.

Adoption. A single word, which had held so many hopes and dreams for me after dad passed away. For me and for… Miranda. Adoption had seemed like a fairy tale ending, a dream that was always in vain. And when reality crashed down on me that no one was ever going to adopt us, the fairy tale and the promising word of 'adoption' was thrown away. Thrown into the garbage and then set on fire, never to be talked about, never to look back on because living and taking care of ourselves meant that we were stronger than the people in the world that didn't want us. The word was useless to my dreams of taking care of my sister and forging my own destiny in the world. Adoption was never an option.

Until now. Which, apparently, I was now legally Andres Alarico's daughter.

Holy … yea there's not even a word that can explain this. This feeling…

I pick up the paper and stand up. I shove the paper under my arm pit and pull my hair up into a high pony tail with my free hands. I just had to sit and think about this.

I open the page back up and stare at my name and Andres's signature at the very bottom. When had he even signed this? Was he even planning on telling me today… when I woke up? Was he ever going to? … okay, the last question was dumb, I mean, he had to tell me at some point. Right?

"UGH," I exclaim and throw my hands and the clasped paper in the air. "How could he just…" I throw my hands up in the air again. "UGH!" I lower my hands and sigh deeply. I had to talk to him. To ask him, to have him tell me this to my face, to… explain this to me. As of now, he was… my dad. My father. My legal parent. Mine.

I clasp the paper in my hand and sprint to the door with a blank mind. I had no idea what I was doing, I was just in action and I couldn't be stopped.

"ANDRES!" I scream at the tops of my lungs as I open myself to the hallway. "Andres Alarico!" I scream. I race down the hallway and down the next, and the next, all the while screaming his name. "Andres! Andres! ANDRES!"

Karina's face appeared from behind a large oak door. "Jezebelle?"

"Andres." I held up the paper and flashed the word adoption at her. Her eyes widened and she visibly swallowed.

"Jezebelle, he is in a meeting. It went longer than expected and the business men are all talking about the-"

"Andres-" I flash the paper again and I stare into her eyes unblinking. "-now."

Karina opens her mouth again and I look behind her. The door was open, and it led to the dining room. Figures. Business meeting. I step around Karina and sprint threw the open door behind her. It leads to a separate room, and then the foyer right before the dining room.

I throw my shoulders back, dignified and open the dining room doors one handed with the adoption paper in my other hand. The doors swing open and breakfast smelling air hits me as I walk through the doorway. Heads turn and the buzz of conversation stops as I leave the dining room door open and step down the tiled steps to the long dining room table.

Karina was right, every single business man was present in the room. Well, almost everyone. One man was missing, and as I scanned the rows of chairs and faces I realized that Lex Luthor was missing as well as his blonde little friend. But, I do see Dinah's face, and her brunette wig looks just the same, but her eyes bore into mine with a quiet sense of an emergency; like she was checking to see if I was alive. I blink at her, body language for 'I live so stop freakin out' and I see her shoulders untense a little. Her eyes stay on mine, and a jolt of realization stomps down on me that she was present when I had my … meltdown.

I switch my gaze almost embarrassed and I look next to Dinah to Bruce Wayne's face. He nods to me slowly with a steady gaze. A gaze that speaks volumes. Crap, so he was in the room too. Wonderful. I nod with a small tip of my head and look over to his left. At Dick Grayson.

Dick meets my eyes immediately, and his eyes spelt out his feelings in a look. It was worried, tense, relieved, and something else as well. But all I cared about was his apparent knowledge of my melt down; he was there too. I choke on the spit in my mouth and I nod tensely at him. Yea, well that's not embarrassing or anything. Some random guy, son of a billionaire just saw me break down like a lunatic. Not bad at all.

I look down the rest of the faces in a passive glance and head towards Andres silently. He must have known it was me, because he turned in his seat with an expression that said 'not a damned word till we're out of earshot.' I walk up to his seat, bend down towards his ear and cup my hand over my mouth so no one can lip read what I'm about to say.

"We need to have a chat father." I lean away from him and stand up straight, waiting for his response.

Andres sighs deeply and the council of business men look at each other from the corners of their eyes in wonder. Andres stands up from his seat. "Excuse me ladies and gentlemen, I am in trouble and must answer for my punishments." His voice is full and loud, and the answering laugh from the crowd of men moves Andres away from them all and with me towards the foyer.

I clasp the paper tight when the doors of the dining room close behind us. Andres stops me before we make it to the hallway, and we stand together in the middle of the foyer, both staring at each other.

I make the first move, and hold up the folded paper that was about to change my whole life. "What… What is this?" I ask finally, unable to hold my emotions in check. I was mad, and sad, and deep down, I felt a little spark of unwanted hope, and I was just… confused.

"A piece of paper," Andres states formally.

"Yo sé que es de papel Andrés. Quiero decir, lo que ... ¿qué es?" I know that it's paper Andres. I mean, what ... what is it?

I look up at his tall frame with wide eyes. He looks down at me with a steady gaze and my heart beats slows. What if he just did this for some business transfer or something like that? What if this piece of paper doesn't mean anything to him, just something else to put his signature on? What if he doesn't care? What if…

I look away and swallow silently. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me, I just thought-"

"I thought you were dead," Andres interrupts in Spanish. I look back up at him, confused. "You left to go riding, a simple thing. So simple. You left filled with life and energy, careless of what was in your immediate future. And you came back with blood on your face, your hands and your energy filled eyes were closed." Andres stares down at me, and his gaze keeps me silent. Were his words the truth, or was he making a story to fill in the gaps of an excuse to make his job easier for his future successor? "Your face was whiter than snow, and your body wasn't moving when the Grayson boy carried you through the door. You looked like you had died, that you were in pain and the world was burning your soul. It was an image I won't forget when I sit on my last moments on his earth."

I shake my head at him, my eyes never leaving his though. "What do you mean?" I ask reverting back to English.

"You were… close to death. So close, just to help someone else become better. I watched you sleep, and then scream in agony for your lost life. The pain and the hurt in your voice hit me. It was so fast and hard, I almost believed someone had struck me. It … hurt me." His eyes left mine and he walked away, his hands behind his back.

"So you adopt me because you felt… bad for me?" I ask, my heart tearing itself up at my realization.

Andres turns back to me with a jerk of his shoulders. "No mariposa." No butterfly. "It wasn't pity I felt for you. It was … something much stronger. Something much more real."

I tip my head to the side in desperation. "Then what was it?"

I see Andres's chest fall from a sudden exhale. "I felt … protective. In a word, that would describe it best. I couldn't let anything hurt you, or let the pain touch you. I was…"

I let my shoulders hang loose and I walk up to Andres slowly. "You were what?"

His looks down at me, and I feel my teeth clench together. Please, don't hurt me, I think in the back of my mind. Don't rip me up, don't take away something that I've never had before.

"I … adopted you not because you were the best choice for the company, not because you keep me alive, not because of your gifts, and not because I feel sorry for you. I adopted you because I feel as though you are my child," he says finally. "I fear for you. I worry, I check on you and I fix the mistakes you give me. I correct you, I test you, and I feel pride when you accomplish your goals. My own mentor warned me never to mix emotion with business, but I couldn't set my life right without you knowing that I care for you. Much more than I ever thought I would, but I have." I switch between his eyes, to check and recheck if his eyes spill an inch of warning that he's lying. "To me, you were already my daughter. Your screams and tears made me realize how far my attachment dug, and this piece of paper only legalizes the emotions I feel."

I stare at him, and he lapses into a quiet silence. His eyes search mine, and I stare down at the ground, suddenly very interested in the groove of the tiles. "I…" I say shaking my head. "I'm not really sure what to say…"

Andres walks away from me and I continue to stare at the ground. Talk about awkward. "I had planned on telling you when the business meeting was over, and I could tell you in the privacy of silent walls," he says. "I didn't know you would wake up so suddenly."

"How long have I been out?" I ask turning towards him and up at his turned back.

He was staring out a window. "Two days. The meeting had extended longer than expected after Mr. Luthor was removed from the meeting."

"Removed?"

Andres looks down once and then turns to me, deathly serious. "Sir threw him out a two story window before walking him to his plane."

I blink in shock. "A window?" I ask. "Two stories? And what did Mr. Luthor say about-"

"He, as Sir explained it to me, was too dazed to do anything serious against Sir."

"So Sir is okay?"

"Still lives to fix my window."

I cock my head to the side. "You laughed after Sir left didn't you?"

Andres glances up at my face and then back to the window. "Go take a shower and get properly dressed. By the time you come back out, lunch will be ready and you have a lot to catch up on."

I walk over to Andres again. "Here, you can have this," I say handing over the folded piece of paper.

Andres accepts the piece of paper gently and looks down at me in the eye. "Are you… okay with this?"

I take a breath inwards and smile slightly. "Well, I can't say it was an unpleasant surprise to wake up to."

Andres grins from the corner of his mouth. "And the news of this-"

"-can be told after lunch," I say finishing his sentence. Of course this news will change the terms of everyone's agreement drastically, and will probably take a few more hours to get everyone back on track for the change of my future company.

Andres nods in confirmation. "Good, go get dressed and we will announce it together as one."

I nod back and begin to walk down the hallway. Remembering something, I turn around as Andres opens the door to the dining room. "Andres," I call out.

Andres turns around and I walk up to him with a confident stride. I stand in front of him and I wrap my arms around his torso. "Thanks for yesterday," I say as I press my cheek against his chest. I fleetingly feel his hands touch my back hesitantly in a return hug, and I instantly let go. "See you in a bit," I say, and then I'm practically running down the hallway to my own bedroom.

* * *

><p>Lex Luthor sat in his leather chair like the king he was meant to be. He fiddled with the four hundred dollar pen on his desk and leaned back into the cushions in thought. Yesterday, he had returned from Bolivia with bruises, embarrassment and shame. He, the man who owned half of Metropolis, the man who would someday bring the almighty Superman to his knees, had been thrown out a window.<p>

Lex's teeth clenched together and his eyebrows crunched together on his forehead in remembrance. That stupid man, the nameless man who had dared touch him. He would have his head. He would have his head on a burning plate of fire while dogs licked the scraps of him off the floor.

He leaned farther back in his chair and propped his legs out on the fifteen hundred dollar desk. But Andres on the other hand, he would fix this inconvenience shortly. He man was already half dead thanks to the various poisons and toxins Lex had arranged the man to ingest. The disease was to spread abnormally fast after the first four months, and it had. It had done exactly what it was meant to. Why Andres wasn't already dead was a question in itself though. He had paid good money for Andres to ingest just the right amount of chemicals to set off a chain reaction in the man's body.

He stared at the phone on his desk in contemplation. He needed the man gone. He needed him gone now. And his apparent daughter Jezebelle? Well, he would deal with her in due time. She was only a child in the eyes of the world and his plans. She was nothing to consider, and she held no considerable power. She would, he imagined, be a pain eventually, but the only one holding the card of Lex's future was Andres.

Lex stared at the phone for a second longer. He needed the man gone. For good.

He leaned forwards from his chair and picked up the phone. He dialed a few numbers in a rapid procession, and hung the phone from his ear as the dial tone followed his orders. The phone rung twice before a thin voice answered quietly.

"Ah, Chef Jerome. The day has come. You do this last thing and you can buy your own restaurant on your own island," Lex said smoothly. He rested his elbows on the desk and smirked from behind the phone. The fool won't make it out to ever get his money. "Now this is what I want you to do…"

* * *

><p>I dress myself in a skin toned ruffled dress that had a drawstring at my torso and the ends of the dress stopped before my knees. It flowed gently down my thighs and swished against my skin in artful waves. It was easily one of the prettiest things I owned. Well, it was something Andres had given to me… which I guess now would mean that I own…<p>

I shook my head to avoid thinking about it too much.

I pulled my hair into a low pony tail and put mascara, bronzer and lip gloss on. Finding no fault in my appearance, I walked out the door and headed to the dining room.

Getting before the doors, I ran a hand around my ponytail and smoothed the baby hairs on the top of my head. I shifted my dress and took a deep breath. Beyond these doors, was going to be the start of my new life. Completely and honestly, my new life was starting now. I had a new name, new skills, power and a new family. I was reborn.

Putting my game face on, I push the dining room doors open and I hear guards step behind me to close them. The smell of lunch food hits me like a wave and I feel my stomach rumble painfully. Yea, eating was on the top of my list.

Heads turn as I start making my way into the room and I put a small smile on my lips. I avoid eyes and sit down in a waiting chair to the right of Andres. I look up and Andres meets my eyes. "You're late," Andres says softly.

"I apologize, I was held up in picking a dress to wear."

Andres looks at me with an approving eye. "It was a good choice. The ruffles frame your face nicely."

A compliment? From Andres? What was this, like two in the last four days? … damn I was on a role.

"… but it doesn't excuse that you were late." The smile on my lips fall immediately. "You will do an extra set of sessions with Sir by the end of tonight."

Now my smile was completely gone. I glance over to him and give the stink eye before looking down at the sudden silver plate of food that had appeared in front of me.

Thirty minuets later, my food is gone and the business meeting is starting to break up for the day. "I would ask all of you to please sit back in your seats," Andres announces to the business men starting to get up to leave.

The men immediately sit back in their seats, half annoyed and half suddenly curious. This business trip was starting to take several interesting side trips and the men were waiting to see what would happen next. Andres had never held them up before.

Andres stood up from the head of the table. "Firstly, I would like to apologize for the continuous interruptions that have followed this meeting. It has been troublesome, but I can assure you that the never ending discussions will end sooner rather than later." There was a rumble of light laughter that echoed around the edges of the room. "Furthermore I would like to make a new announcement." He looked over at me and I stood up from my chair swiftly. "We would like to make a new announcement."

Heads turned my way and I stood with my hands crossed over one another in front of me. I look over to Andres expectantly, and Andres calls me over to him with a small motion of his hand. I hold back any expression and walk over to him quietly. I stand slightly in front of him and he puts one hand on my right shoulder. "As you all are aware, Jezebelle Morolass is now my protégé for the new upcoming company and my successor to all the businesses I own. Up until recently, that was all that was in our arrangement." He paused to let that sink in and I swore I could see Bruce Wayne's eyes widen for a moment like he knew what Andres was going to say. "But after due consideration, both me and my successor have decided to make our arrangement permanent." Eyes widened around the table as the information sunk in. "I would like to introduce you to my now legal daughter, Jezebelle Alarico."

The name hit everyone like a physical blow. People blinked in shock and some stared openly at him like he had grown a third head. I decided to intervene. "I know that this must be a shock to most of you," I glanced at Bruce Wayne, somehow knowing he was an exception. "And I know some of you might agree that this has been rushed beyond all … tradition…" I say suddenly thinking that this was starting to sound like some kind of engagement or marriage announcement. "… but this is something that Andres and I both agreed to do. Not based on the company but as family."

Yep, definitely starting to sound like some kind of engagement speech.

"And I know everyone here, based on the excellent relationship all of us share between this prospering business, will all be delighted as much as Andres and I are." Was it a threat? Hell yes.

And they all caught on. The atmosphere turned a little tense as my words sunk down and for the first time I saw the cold and greedy glares of the business men around me. They would do anything to take control of a new multibillion dollar company. And that included trying to take advantage of a sixteen year old girl. They had all hidden agendas trying to control my company, and the realization sunk in as I stared into the eyes of the men around me.

Holy shiz, I underestimated just what I was getting myself into here.

What the hecksicle was I thinking?

I held my gaze like ice to the people around me while my stomach clenched and unclenched with fear. Yea I was starting to get terrified of the choice I had made, but I damned well wasn't going to show them that I was scared.

Andres put his other hand on my shoulder, holding me firmly in front of him and him standing slightly behind me. "I couldn't have put it in better words," he said, agreeing whole heartedly with my threat at the business men.

The air had a new sense of underlying electricity and I made my face and eyes give a way no emotion. Andres had said it. I was an Alarico now. Jezebelle Alarico. That meant that I wouldn't fall, bend or break down in front of any of these men. I would be faster, better, tougher and smarter than all of them. Just let them try to take away what I had right now, what I had been fighting to accomplish. I dared them.

Slowly, from the back of the room, someone started clapping in congratulation. Others looked at whoever was clapping, and soon, several others joined in. The clapping got louder as more people joined and I let a smile come to my face. It wasn't a genuine smile, but it meant that the rest of everyone who wasn't clapping, now were. I had officially started the game of my business throne.

I smile wider and Andres lightly squeezes my shoulder as the clapping continues on.

* * *

><p>The meeting had ended and everyone had already left to their homes for the day. The new schedule for the business meeting said that tomorrow was the last day. I stood in front of a window overlooking the pasture at the back of the house and I watched as the sun started to come down from the sky.<p>

"You did well today," a familiar voice says from behind me.

I turn around and see a tall Hispanic man with a closely shaven head and dark brown eyes. "A compliment from Andres and then you? I'm surprised the world hasn't started to turn in the other direction," I answer back with a straight face.

Sir doesn't leave emotion on his face, but I know his body language well enough to know that he didn't take my answer as attitude. So I wasn't going to get body slammed and thrown because of my mouth. Speaking of being thrown…

"So, a two story window?" I ask.

Sir's eyes flash dangerously. "It was a necessary precaution to ensure your future safety in your own home."

I nod in agreement slowly. "… Two stories." My face breaks into a wide grin and I can feel my shoulders shaking in laughter. "God, I would have loved to have seen his face when he hit the ground."

Sir remained silent and expressionless, and he looked to the window beside me to take away attention from himself.

I step closer to him and kiss his slightly rough cheek once. I step away and put my hands behind my back. "I appreciate your concern for me," I say sincerely.

Sir looks down at me silently and nods once, silent as ever, but a light in his eyes that made me think of a protective mother goose. My inner thoughts shook their heads in exasperation. Men…

I turn away from him and walk down the hall in the opposite direction. Doors pass me, and I make my way to Andres's study. Maids and attendants of the house pass by me, their eyes lowered in respect when they see me. I pass by them, nodding to the ones I know and keeping a calm expression to the ones I didn't.

A house chef turned into the hallway I was in and walked in front of me while balancing several silver plates in his arms. I recognize the back of the man's head and I rush forwards to him. "Jerome!" I say with a smile.

The man almost trips over his feet and I reach out to help him. I steady his arms before he drops his plates and his eyes meet mine. I smile lightly, and Jerome swallows before smiling back at me. "Mistress Alarico," he bows his head slightly in greeting.

I release his arms and nod back to him. "You can call me Jez Jerome. You're one of the few here I can trust to treat me normally. I'd hate to mix that up now."

When I had first gotten here, the servants and maids around the house had stared me down and made me feel uncomfortable. They would treat me formally, and move like the red sea every time I walked into a room or down the hallway. Jerome had one day smashed into me with orange juice Andres had ordered from the kitchen. I had been wearing a white dress, and orange juice was dripping down my chest and all over my shoulders. The maids had scattered in fear, but I just leaned against a wall and laughed. A few days later, Jerome was my second sort of friend I had made in the house. The first had been Karina. Now whenever Jerome passed me, he would smile and wave and we would laugh as the other maids would look terrified and walk away with straight and dignified backs.

Jerome raises the stack of silver food containers on his arm higher. "Of course Miss- … Jez," he says. His eyes waver from mine and I see him sweat a little at the top of his head. Was he okay?

I give him a worried look for a moment before I look at the food he carries. "Where is this food going?"

Jerome glances at the plates on his arms and then back to me. "I was ordered to serve Master Alarico his afternoon medicine," he answers formally. What was wrong with him?

"Oh," I say with an accepting nod. "I was just on my way to see him as well. We can walk together," I say smiling a little again.

Jerome nods and motions for me to go ahead of me, formally again.

I look at him for a moment and then walk ahead of him silently. I wondered what was going on.

I walk ahead into the hallway that lead into Andre's study and Jerome follows me slowly, like he was dragging his legs. Was he sick? "Hey, are you okay?" I ask him.

Jerome doesn't look at me. "Fine," he says.

I fake a grin and knock on Andres's wooden study door. "Andres it's me." I glance behind me and watch as Jerome shifts on his feet nervously. What the heck was going on with him?

"Come in," Andres calls out from behind the door. I open the wooden door forwards and walk into the room with Jerome one step behind me.

"Jerome has your medicine, I just wanted to know how you were," I say sitting down across from Andres at his large desk.

Andres looks up from some pristine paper he holds in his hand and hands it to me. "Sign," he orders me.

I take the paper from him and scribble my signature at the bottom of the paper without looking at the words on the sheet. Jerome puts the silver plate down on the desk next to Andres as I hand him back the paper I signed. The silver lid is raised and I see a couple of white pills and a clear glass of water. Or almost clear.

The water was... shimmery. Like there was some kind of oil in it. I blink my eyes away from the glass. It was probably just the light, making my vision go screwy. Andres grabs the glass and then the pills. He pops the pills into his mouth and raises the glass to his mouth. Sunlight from the window behind him shines into the glass and I see rainbows of color line the top of the water.

That was not a trick of the eye.

I lunge out and smack the glass out of Andres's hand lightning fast. The glass flies through the air, hits the wall beside Jerome, and smashes to pieces. The glass shards hit the ground, and a silence hits the room.

"What-"Jerome says, his eye brows nearly touching the crown of his head.

"Don't move Jerome," I say my eyes glues to the shards of glass.

Andres hadn't moved from where he was. His expression was blank, his mouth was in a hard line and his eyes were cold. He stared at the side of my head, watching what I was doing.

I stepped around the desk and crouched in front of the glass. I picked up a spare piece of the broken glass and raised it to the sun. The oil, or whatever was in the water, stuck to the sides of the glass and made the image of the sunlight distorted.

Andres watched what I was doing and he was on his feet in an instant. "Get the glass to the lab in the basement. I want to know what is on it and what it's made of," he ordered me.

I look up to him, all too aware of what was going on. "Yes sir," I say. I stand up and motion for Jerome to follow me.

"Leave the boy here with me," Andres says.

I look back at Andres and then at Jerome. Jerome looked wide eyed and pale, sickly even. "Andres, Jerome didn't-"

"Leave us," Andres snaps at me with steel lining his voice.

I don't back down that easily. "Andres Jerome wouldn't poison you! He's been nothing but-"

"Jezebelle Alarico! Go bring that to the lab immediately!"

I swallow my protest and nod. I gather the rest of the glass pieces and head out the door with clenched teeth. He just wanted to talk to Jerome. That's it; he never said he was condemning him. The poisoned glass could have been anyone. Jerome was only delivering what he was given. That's it. Nothing more.

I go down a pair of stairs to the first floor. I pass the dining room and a couple of others with random people standing around. It seemed not all the business men had left.

"Jezebelle?" someone asks behind me.

I turn around immediately, and I see Dick Grayson and his adoptive father standing behind him; both staring at me openly. I look down and I realize I've been clutching the glass. Making the glass turn red from my blood, and starting to drip down my hands.

"Shiz," I say out loud, putting the blood stained glass in one hand and looking at the deep cuts in the other.

Dick walks towards me and reaches out to help. I maneuver my hands away from him.

"I'm fine," I say quickly, turning my back on him and walking away. "Enjoy the rest of your evening."

I feel the stares of the two men on my back as I walk away, and I shrug off the overpowering feeling to turn around and tell them both about what had just happened. This was a family crisis. Not business. That's what they both were, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson, business men.

I turn a corner and in the next ten minuets, I'm in the underground lab, taking a blood free piece of glass to a scanner and waiting for the results while I patch up my bleeding hands. I place some of my will into my hands, but I know it'll be at least an hour before their fully healed. So instead, I wait on a steel chair in the pristine and disinfectant smelling lab room.

Twenty minuets go by, and I sit still waiting for the computer to print out the results. What was taking so damn long?

The lab phone next to me rings. Once. Twice. Three times. I answer with grinded teeth. I really wasn't in the mood to talk. To anyone. "Speak," I answer.

"Jez," Karina's voice says from the other side, breathy, and tense. "Get to the study. Now. It's Andres... He's... He's..."

I'm on my feet in an instant. Her voice wasn't breathy, it was _panicked._ "He's what Kar? What happened?"

"He's not breathing."

The printer sets the paper in front of me and I grab it right before I drop the phone and sprint out of the Lab at top speed. No way was he going to die on me. _Not again... no way in-_

I sprint into the stairs and climb flight after flight, my lungs catching on every breath and my legs propelling my body forwards as fast as it can. I break into the hallways, and I don't even pause to check where I am. I know where he was. He was in his study, as always._ Dying_ in his study.

My legs take off again and I'm running past open doors and wide eyed people. Voices are calling out to me, but I can't hear past the blood pumping in my ears, and the frustrated screams in my head yelling at me to move faster.

A raven headed boy steps out from the hallway and watches me run past him. "Jezebelle!" Dick calls out to me.

I don't look back, I barely even hear him. Andres, he was dying. I had to get to him, I had to save him.

An attendant of this side of the wing stares at me as I past the billionaire's son. "Make sure no one leaves their rooms," I order in a dead voice. "No one goes in or out. Makes sure the house is shut down, and I want it to happen _now_." I pass the attendant with eyes made of steel and I see his head bob helplessly in submission from my peripheral vision.

I run faster, faster than my top speed and I break through the double doors of Andres's study ready to rip apart the room with my teeth. Two heads turn to me, and I see Karina and Bruce Wayne standing over a fallen body. Andres's body.

"Jezebelle!" Karina exclaims. Yes, yes, I know it's me, move on.

"Is he breathing?" I ask her, strait to the point.

Karina swallows and blinks away moisture from her eyes. She was gonna start to bawl on me. "Y-yes," she answers, trying to hold it together. She points down to the body, and I jump over the couch that was in my way. I sprint to the middle of the room and I break in between Bruce and Karina to Andres's side.

I fall to my knees. Andres looked up at the ceiling with gray, lifeless eyes. They blinked once, slowly, and I put my hand to his neck. His pulse was weak. Really weak.

"What happened?" I asked, placing my hands over his heart.

"Jerome left after you caught the poisoned glass. Andres said he needed to call someone, and I left the room to escort Jerome to the premises of the house," Karina answered, her voice wavering. "I came back in, after showing Jerome to his room and ordering him to pack, and I found Andres on the floor. His eyes open and his mouth was frothing at the side."

My eyes snap to his mouth. There was nothing there. "Froth?" I ask.

Karina looks at the clean mouth and nods. "I tried to stop it, but more came out. I screamed and Mr. Wayne came in to see if I was all right. He moved Master Alarico to the side, and all the froth went out to his mouth."

I look over at Bruce Wayne. Good thing he had done that, or else Andres would have choked on his own saliva. "Go on," I say.

"I wiped it away, but still Master Alarico would not move."

I rotate my hands over Andres's beating heart and move my will into his blood streams. "You did all you could Karina. But we don't have time to sit and chat about this. Get me hot water. Not cold, not boiling, _hot_ water. Get it _now_." I release more of my will into his blood stream, and tip Andres's head to the side in case he started puking after this. "Mr. Wayne I would appreciate it if you could get me a small flash light and a towel of some sort, and a bowl."

This was about to get ugly.

I didn't watch as the two adults got up and left to do what I had ordered, instead I looked down at Andres's chest and sunk my whole consciousness into his living body.

Green. That was all I could see as long as I passed through his veins. Green. Green cells, green walls, and green liquid was moving throughout his body. There was so much poison in his blood stream, I could barely make out a difference in what was healthy and what was not. There was too much poison in his body for one shot, or drink or whatever he did to get poisoned. There was so much in his body it would have taken him ten or eleven times to ingest this much poison.

There had been poison in his body for some time now.

How had I not seen this?

I place energy into my will and I evaporate poison from the passing cells around me as I move through his veins. Cell after cell, vein after vein, I cured every cell I passed and every infected area I saw. But there was too much. I quickly grew to realize that the poison wasn't even slowing down at my mass murder of its kin. It just kept on growing. And growing. And growing.

It was too much.

I pull myself out of Andres's body, and a heat wave of a gillion degrees hits me over the head, making me take deep breathes. Okay, just got my energy back up, I really didn't have enough juice to pull someone like him back from the dead with what little energy I had left.

"There's so much," I hear myself whisper, and then I'm back inside his veins and arteries, watching the blood go green once again.

If only there was a way to get rid of it all. Heating the blood was out of the option, I could fry him from the inside out. Evaporating the poison away just wasn't working and I was starting to get really tired. I could feel my conscious being pulled in and out of Andres's body like a dish towel.

How did I get it out?

All at once, I knew my answer and I began to push the poison out of the cells, one by one, a million at a time. I couldn't just kill the poison, or else it would grow back twice as strong. So I just had to move it out of the body. The green separated from the red and I pushed the green cells out of the veins and to the closest exit point of the body.

I push and pull the cells apart and I evaporate the cells that had been mutated by the poison too much. The poison leaves the body, starting out small, then overflowing out like a water fall. Soon the antibodies of Andres's body understand my little process and I release my conscience from Andres.

I open my eyes and I see the poison falling out of Andres's open eyes. Bruce Wayne drops the bowl beside me and I move it under Andres's face, to collect the poison. Now I had a sample.

Andres blinks several times and I feel my body relax. He was alive. I had saved him. I sigh out and a rush of heat envelopes my body, making my heart stop for a moment and my head sag forwards. Uh-oh.

That was no bueno.

I feel my eyes close by themselves and I force them open heavily. "Water," I say, my mouth tensing and my eyes starting to water. I was on the verge of passing out. "Give him water," I whisper as loud as I can.

My head falls forward and I brace my hands on the floor as black spots reach over both of my eyes. Large hands wrap around my upper arms and I look up to the expressionless face of Bruce Wayne. My arms start to shake and I let my head sag again, forcing oxygen to come and go in my lungs. "P-Poison," I say to him, trying to grasp the idea in my own head. "There was so much of it... cancer... wasn't natural..." I gasp inwards heavily. "...set if off... I couldn't stop it all... had to move it."

I look to the left between strands of my hair and I see Andres opening his mouth to the water trickle Karina is offering him. I feel my shoulders relax a little and my arms stop shaking.

It was okay. I saved him. Andres, I had saved him. He was safe.

I look up and Bruce is still holding on to the upper parts of my arm. "It's okay," I say to him, my eyes locked onto his brown. "I'm fine now."

Bruce nods tensely, and lets me go, his face still expressionless. I immediately fall to my hands and knees again, my weight dragging me down and the relief making me collapse in on myself.

For a second there, I thought I had lost him. I get up to my knees shakily and Karina helps me up. Andres sits upwards and he breathes out experimentally. "What..." he asked.

I shake my head and look down, exhaustion taking over me. Karina takes charge. "You were poisoned Sir, Karina saved you."

Andres looks over at me and I manage a halfhearted smile. "Couldn't let you die on me without you filling out the last of your will to me," I joke weakly.

Andres looks at me with a weird expression for a moment before his face breaks out in a smile. An honest to god, _smile_. And then, music to my freaking ears, he_ laughs_.

Maybe it was the extra adrenaline from the previous moments, or maybe it was just the fact that no one was seriously injured. Whatever the reason, I started to laugh along as well at my lame joke. Then, sensing the atmosphere, Karina joined in the laughing with a high musical laughter of her own. Andres met my gaze and there was a light behind his eyes that made me stare at him in astonishment. There was warmth beneath the brown colors of his eyes. Warmth and happiness. An emotion I had never seen anyone show to me before. Anyone except Miranda.

Bruce walked into the other room, giving us privacy as Andres stopped laughing and Karina and I smiled softly at one another. There was a moment of silence. A blissful silence free of argument, betrayal, schemes and accusations. It was a silence of gratitude and hope. Andres looked at me, I looked at Karina and Karina looked at Andres. My own little family.

Karina suddenly stands up from the ground we were all kneeling on. She flattens the ends of her dress with her fingers and rolls her shoulders backwards. "If you will excuse me," Karina announces formally and serious, "I will escort Mr. Wayne back to his rooms with his son." She did a little curtsy and immediately left the room, leaving it all to me and Andres.

I watch her leave and then look over at Andres. I put my hand on his shoulder. "You feel okay?" I ask, more leaning on him then helping him with his own balance.

Andres takes my hand and pulls me to him slowly. I slide on the ground from my knees and end up in front of him. His arms go around me and I sit on my butt, his head resting on top of mine. I wrap my arms back around him in a returning hug and I sigh out, my chest heaving slightly.

"Really thought I was gonna lose you there," I say pressing my face into his chest.

Andres's arms tighten around me possessively. "Ahora no pequeña mariposa." _Not now little butterfly._

I laugh out a sort of half sob and half snort of ironic sentiment. "Better not you little-"

From behind us, the door blew open in a "SMASH".

I break away from Andres and turn around. Andres gets to his feet immediately, but I stumble as spots appear in my vision. I shake my head aggressively.

"What are you doing?" Andres asks whoever was in the doorway.

"Finishing what I started," the voice says back. A deep voice, a voice I know really well. Jerome.

My head snaps up, my knees still on the ground and my hands supporting me. "Jerome?" I ask bewildered and shocked. What was he doing?

My eyes look at him clearly. He stood with the doors spread open away from him and he held a gun pointed at Andres and I with a steady hand. He knew how to use the gun he held and he knew how to end lives with it.

I tip my head to its side. "It was you?"

Jerome's wild eyes glance at me before looking back at Andres. "Get away from him Jez," he says to me, his voice dipping in fear.

"Jerome, just stop for a second-" I say.

"Jez move away from him, before I shoot the both of you."

I put my hands up in surrender and stand up in front of Andres. "Jerome," I say quietly. "You don't have to-"

A gun shot spit the air.

Andres's hand pulls me to the right. A searing hot pain hits my shoulder, and I fall to the floor. Blood runs from my chest onto the hardwood around me. Andres shouts my name.

Black and red fills my vision, and the image of Miranda crying blood comes to my mind like a memorized piece of scripture. I grimace at the sight and put my hands underneath my body to push myself upwards.

Another blast of the gun echoes through the air.

And then another.

I hear myself scream. And then another body hits the floor.

I force myself to my knees and I look upwards in panic. Please don't be... Andres was on the floor, holding his chest in pain, his eyes clear and his face open in shock.

I look farther upwards and I see Jerome standing with the gun still pointed upwards, his hands shaking violently and his mouth open in shock. "I- I..." he says, his mouth opening and closing like a gold fish. " I just..."

The door behind me slams open. Karina screams.

Jerome looks behind me and lifts the gun under his jaw. "Jez," he says looking into my eyes. "I'm so-"

"NO!" I scream, throwing myself forwards in panic and desperation.

"-rry." My head hits the floor and anther gunshot rips through the air like a cannon. Karina screams again, and Jerome's body smashes to the oak floor with a heavy 'THUD'.

I roll to my side and force myself to my knees. Jerome...

"Jezebelle," Andres whispers my name from behind hme.

My eyes rip away from the wet, bloody and ripped flesh of what used to be Jerome's head and I turn instead towards Andres behind me.

My eyes widen, and my heart stops. "Andres," I whisper back.

* * *

><p><strong>o.0 <strong>

**So I know... DAMN  
><strong>

**NEXT UP: Jezebelle throws knives like a maniac, Batman meets Jez for the first time, and well... i gotta leave the rest for a 'surprise' **

**~missmusicluver**


	23. Chapter 23

**DISCLAIMER: Nope, I don't own a thing except for my character and the time I put into writing this :)**

**Sorry if this next part makes you cry...**

* * *

><p>Andres looks up at me, his eyes wide from pain and shock. His breath came in short gasps. His hands were clenched over the left side of his chest. His heart.<p>

"Jezebelle," he whispers again, and blood runs from the corner of his mouth.

"Andres!" I scream, throwing myself to him, blinding pain and a searing flash if agony shot threw my left shoulder. "Andres. Andres! Andres stay with me!" I scream at him. Desperation laced my voice, and my eyes watered. _Oh God, not again. Please not again, I ... I can't..._

_({I pushed to the edge of the circle and looked down. Miranda was on her back, lying down with her arms twisted to the sides of her in an uncomfortable angle. Her lips were open slightly and she was panting to keep each breath in her body. She wasn't moving and the front of her left shoulder was covered in dark colored blood that was falling into the concrete beneath her. The blood fallen from her shoulder was mingling with her hair, turning the blonde locks a bright red.})_

"Jez.." his whisper came again at me, softer than before.

({_The blue eyes of my sister moved slightly and I saw her focus on my face. "Jezeb…" she says quietly.})_

I grasp the hand on his chest and push my will into his heart without looking down at the dying man. "Hang on Andres. I'm gonna save you." I pushed my will through his heart and forcibly mended the cells in the wall of his heart. "I'm gonna save you."

_({"You're going to be okay," I say nodding and trying to smile reassuringly. My lips tremble, but I hold myself together in front of her. "Okay? You're gonna be just fine," my breath becomes shaky and I choke on tears as her blue eyes look up at me almost in a dazed trance.})_

"Jez."

_({"Jez," she coughed.})_

I shake my head, tears spilling down my eyes.

The walls in his heart were ripped open beyond recognition. The bullet was lodged in his back. Two bullets. Blood rushed out of his heart, flooded his body and oxygen wasn't reaching his lungs.

He was dying.

_({I knew Abby was behind me watching. But it didn't matter what she saw, it was too late and I knew it now.})_

"Jezebelle... Alarico."

My will pulls out of his body, and my eyes meet the waiting stare of Andres. I swallow the heat rising over my face and the pain grasping my breaking heart. "...Yes sir?"

His wide eyes bore into mine with a steel promise just underneath his gaze. "I know ..." he says. "I've known for a year now." His hand squeezes mine harder. "That I was meant to die."

_({"Am I going to die?" she asks her eyes half open now})_

I shake my head. "No. Not while I'm still here. Not while I'm still standing," I argue. "I can stop it."

Andres smiles painfully. "You can't stop death _mariposa_. His shadow has been after me for... too long."

My eyes narrow. "A death preplanned by someone else."

Andres blinks slowly, his eyes hovering to remain closed forever. He shakes his head slightly. "Remember what I have taught you. Remember what you have. Remember what you've learned." His eyes close once, before they open slowly again, somehow duller then they were before. "_The butterfly is the most graceful in the world..." _he sucks in a breath. _"But...you are not a simple butterfly."_

I lock my gaze with his and I lean closer to him. My eyebrows furrowed together. "_What?"_

A ghost of a smile reaches his lips. "_You are much fiercer than a butterfly. Graceful and calm, like the wind before a storm. ... But fear and anger strikes your opponent when a-an enemy touches close to your heart. Like... a red vision of hate, you s-shine._" His breath stumbles, and I hear his heart skip a beat beneath my fingertips. "More than a butterfly... but less than a god of hate and war," he says.

"A ...Red Butterfly," I say.

He smiles. "My little Red Butterfly." Tears fall on our clasped hands.

Doors slam open behind me and Andres closes his eyes.

"Fly," he whispers.

_({"You are not going to leave me. Do you understand me? You use what momma gave you and you fight back," I say whispering only for her to hear. "For god's sake Miranda, don't leave me too."})_

"Andres," I whisper back to him urgently, tears running down my cheeks unchecked. _Please don't. Please don't leave me alone here. Not again._

Andres took in a breath and then exhaled slowly, like someone savoring a forgotten meal.

_ ({"Jez," she whispers.}) _

"... please. Please don't leave me too..." I choke out. "Dad."

His hands went limp in mine.

Andres Alarico, my father, my mentor. Died with a small smile on his lips.

"Daddy."

* * *

><p>The silence was so deafening, my ears rung like a boom box that had been turned up to its highest volume right in front of my ears, and then broadcasted louder over an ampatheater over me. There was no noise around me, there was no sight beyond the tunnel vision of Andres's closed eyes in front of me on the blood stained floor.<p>

I was in shock. Again.

You'd think that seeing death so many times would somehow make looking at a dead body easier. Watching Mom die after child birth, Dad go crazy, Mentor Shoi die of a heart attack, Miranda getting shot and now Andres getting shot; I thought I would be used to seeing deaths ugly face at my door step. I wasn't. I stared and stared silently at Andres's closed eyes and lifeless face.

Someone's hand rested on my shoulder gently. The thumb caressed my neck in small circles, the skin rubbing against mine with a calming nudge. I didn't have to look around to see who had come in. There was only one person who rubbed in circles.

"Canary," I say out loud, my voice raw and whispered. Using her hero name, not the one she had said was her real name, or her undercover name. I needed the hero version of her right now. I needed her unbreakable base to help me from my knees.

"Jezebelle. He's gone," her voice said from behind me, just as whispered as mine.

"I know."

For the first time, I heard sobbing in the background. Not hysterical or screaming sobs, but gut wrenching painful sobs that echoed of the wooden walls and seeped into my numb nerves. A voice high enough to be recognized as a woman, and broken enough to know how deeply this woman cared for the body I was staring down at. Karina.

"Your offer," I whisper over the sobs. The circling thumb stops for a moment.

"You don't have to decide yet," came her reply. "Right now, you're in no place to make decisions like that."

"I want to go," I say even quieter. My eyes never leave Andres's face, but a cold shiver of reality was slicing its way into my heart. My mouth was moving, but the rest of my head hadn't caught up to what it was saying. "I want to leave."

There was no answer behind me. Was that what she had wanted to hear from me? Was she happy now? Following me night after night in the cages with her green suited boyfriend, fighting me herself in the cages to make a point, following me here from the United States to see me. Had I finally done something she wanted? Could she leave me at rest now?

"Then leave. But my offer was not an excuse for you to run away," Dinah/Black Canary says, breaking my thoughts into shattered glass. "Not again."

I turn my head around and let go of Andres's hand. Her hand was still on my shoulder and I shrug it off indifferently. I stand up and face her. "I have never run away." My voice was hard, cold, unforgiving and isolated. Like a church bell in the morning, but your standing right under it when it rings.

Dinah places her hands on her hips. "Then what was it you did when you left the states?" Her voice was just as cold as mine, but to my steel she was diamond. There was no pity in her eyes and no understanding. She had seen death before just like I had, but she wasn't talking to me about Andres and I knew that. She was going to start talking about Miranda. Again.

"Taking a hiatus."

Dinah's face grew hard. "That isn't funny Jezebelle. You just got up and left away from everyone who was still there for-"

"I KNOW it's not funny Dinah. I KNOW what I left behind but I did it so I could move on from-"

"No, you don't get to get up and leave like that Jezebelle. You just left. One day you were there and the next you weren't."

"I left because nothing was there to hold me back Dinah. Nothing and no one." My eyes are glued to hers and I hope I'm hurting her. I want her to go away. I want to cry, to scream, to tear down walls and hit every solid object I can find. "Not my friends and sure as hell not you."

I see a nerve in Dinah's jaw pulse as her teeth clench each other. "You can't push everyone away just because Miranda left."

Something in my head broke and my eyes widened. She just ...Miranda... I guess you could say that I snapped.

I pulled back my arm and lunged forwards faster than I had ever moved in my life. Pain tore through my shoulder as the bullet wound stretched forwards. Dinah dodged to the left like she was expecting it and I swept out my leg under her. She jumped forwards faster than the eye moved and I rolled backwards, my shoulder screaming in pain. She flew over me and I struck out at the back of her exposed leg with my right arm. I hit the back of her knee and her left leg gave out for a moment when she landed. She used that to turn on her bent knee back to me and I stood up. We faced each other, neither one of even breaking a sweat, but my arm starting to bleed heavily onto the ground.

"Don't ever talk about her. You didn't know her. You never met her. You have no idea who she was or what she meant to me," I say. The sobs had stopped and I knew more than one pair of eyes were staring at Dinah and I.

"She left Jezebelle. Instead of making sure nothing like that happens to other people, you ran away. You left and-"

"I didn't run away!"

"-left Miranda's memory as well."

The familiar feeling of my emotions breaking and my months of training went out of my head. I lunged at Dinah again and every ounce of anger I had went to every punch, kick, twirl and duck I did. I snapped my arm at her face and she brushed my hand away like an annoying knat. I struck her at the shoulder and she leaned backwards before my hand made contact. I kicked at her head and she leaned backwards, my leg missing her by an inch.

I would attack and she would dodge. Over and over again.

I spun a spinning kick at her and she flipped backwards. My anger fueled my moves and I didn't feel the fatigue itching at my sides and the bottoms of my arms until I saw how much slower my attacks were becoming despite my furious attempts at moving faster. My shoulder suddenly decided that it was going to stop the anger fueled numbness and hurt like flames licking at my skin. I couldn't do this forever, while she on the other hand probably could. She was trained to do so.

Knowing I was already at the edge of exhaustion, I made one last ditch effort. She thought I was on a rampage, and even though I sort of was, she wouldn't expect me to actually think through my attacks. I faked a left handed swing, making my shoulder explode in blinding pain, and Dinah stepped to the right, right where I wanted her to go. I swung out my right leg and punched with my right arm into her torso. My arm made contact and I felt a hiss of breath escape Dinah.

Exhaustion took over my body and I barely felt Dinah twist under my arm, and use my weight against hers to throw my arms behind me and kick out my left knee. My left knee hit the floor, Dinah's arms wrapped around my neck from the back, and I stopped moving. She could break my neck in a twitch of her pinkie. We stayed like that, both unmoving and silent. I lifted my head a little against the pressure from Dinah's hands, slowly and met a pair of brown eyes.

Bruce Wayne stood next to a red eyed and pale Karina before me. They both stood side by side and both were watching me and Dinah fight. Karina's mouth was open and gaping in shock and fear. Bruce Wayne was silent, calm and collected. Weird. You'd think he would've pissed himself in fear when he saw his date kick his business partner's daughter.

"I think your cover's blown," I say just loud enough so the Bruce and Karina can hear me to Dinah.

Dinah lets go of me and I collapse to the ground. My arms catch me before my head slams to the ground, but they collapse under my weight too and my chest hits the ground instead, knocking the wind out of me. "Ow," I mumble to the wood floor under my face.

I turn to my back and look up at the ceiling. "You okay?" Dinah asks sarcastically, putting her hands on her knees and standing above me with a straight face.

I look at her for a moment and then put my hand on my left shoulder, where I'm still bleeding. "You suck." I grimace and pull myself to a sitting position and Dinah gets down on her knees beside me. I look up slowly and wave at Karina, who is still staring with her mouth wide open. "Karina?" I wave my hands harder at her. "Karina, come back down to earth _soace extranjero_." _Space alien._

Karina blinks twice and swallows. She shakes her head shortly and blinks again. "Jezebelle?"

I put my right arm down and put pressure on the left shoulder again. "Can you get me bandages, tape, rags, oil and a lighter?"

Karina blinks. "Of course _Ama_." _Mistress._

I fake a very plastic smile and nod my head in thanks. Red and black dots cloud my vision and I swallow back the instinct to clutch my wound and cry. Gotta keep moving right now. "Dinah... Marybeth... whoever the hell you are right now, can you get scissors from the desk for me? Top drawer, to the left, on the left side of the desk."

Dinah/Black Canary/ Marybeth nods once and gets up off her knees to go to the desk. I place my feet under myself before my body can cry out in pain to me and I heave myself to my feet. I totter slightly and trudge over to the couch, the body of Andres still lying on the floor, like a stone statue. Hard to look at fallen over, and unmovable.

"Mr. Wayne?" I ask, looking over to the tall man still standing by the other door in the room.

He looks up at me with calm eyes, a chill goes down my spine. He was kinda... scary. "Yes?" he asks.

"Could you do me a favor?"

His expression doesn't change, and I'm almost tempted to shiver and tell him never mind. "What is it?"

"Could you cover him?" I ask pointing to the body in the floor just in my peripheral vision. "There is a sheet from when I was unconscious earlier. Could you just cover him and call the head of security Jamison from the phone on the desk?"

He moves silently to the couch and the sheet, and I take it as a yes. Where were the playboy's smiles and offhanded remarks of an idiot that I had seen and heard on him earlier? This was a completely different man in front of me.

Dinah comes back with the scissors. "Cut the back of the shirt," I tell her with clenched teeth. My arm was starting to feel numb and it was a few degrees cooler than the rest of my body. Not good. Her scissors snip the back of my tank top and the strap of the shirt falls forwards. I hear Bruce on the phone from somewhere to the side on me. "Dinah, I need you to hold my arm. I need you to hold onto it and don't let go of it no matter what happens." God this was going to hurt.

Dinah automatically holds onto my left arm, barely tugging on the skin and tendons of my bleeding body part. "What do you want me to do now?" She was calm and collected. Good. I was probably going to go a little crazy after this.

"Try to block out my screams."

I feel her hands tighten on me. "What?" her voice is light and panicked mixed with ... what, worry?

I hear Bruce hang up the phone. "Mr. Wayne, I am going to need you to come here."

I hear his footsteps come to me. Light, and soft like an animal. Not at all like the regular walk of a normal six foot two man. "The head of security, Jamison, is on his way," he informs me.

I grimace a tight smile. "Great." I look down at my feet and swallow at the pain about to come. "Mr. Wayne, I need you to hold my other arm like Dinah here is doing."

I feel him next to me and his one hand wraps around my arm. "You need to get the bleeding to-"he says.

"The bullet is still inside my arm."

Silence.

Dinah, if not both of the adults next to me knew what that meant. So I decided to say the obvious. "I'm going to push the bullet out of me."

Dinah squeezed my arm in what she probably thought was reassuring, but for me was quite painful. "We won't let go."

I grimace again and clench my hands into fists. "Great, just don't let go no matter _what_ I do."

Both hands on my arms tighten and I close my eyes. I pull my will into myself and I see my flesh in my mind's eye. Torn and swollen, the bullet in my shoulder had hit a vein. The Cephalic vein to be exact. The one of three really big veins in my arm that connected from my hands to the axillary vein in my chest and then the Superior Vena Cava that lead straight to my heart. The bullet was lodged right in the middle of the Cephalic vein, stopping all the blood flow in my arm.

Yea, no bueno.

I sink myself into the injury and my will grasps onto the bullet. Pain laces immediately, and I almost let go from the level of painful shock that had hits me. I furrow my eyebrows together and set my face into grim determination. I could do this. My will wraps around the bullet tighter and I pull.

Blinding pain. Pain so hot, it could out burn the surface of the sun. I feel my arms try to come to my sides in instinct to stop the pain, but Bruce and Dinah are holding on too tight. Fire rips at my flesh as the bullet moves towards the opening in my shoulder. Agony erupts from my chest and I scream out as the bullet moves slowly to the outside. My arms shake from the strain and I try to bite on my lips to stop my screams. All I end up doing is making my lips bleed. The bullet dislodges from the vein and was moving through the muscle.

I let go of the bullet still in my muscle and will the walls of the vein to close together and heal. I start with the Tunica Intima, or the inner layer of the vein. The work is slow and I'm all too aware of the bullet still sitting in my shoulder. Then I pull the middle layer or the Tunica Media to close as well. I push for the cells to duplicate and the outer layer, the Tunica Adventitia, to close around the other two layers and complete the vein. Deoxygenated blood begins to rush out of the vein and my left arm slowly starts to become the same temperature of the rest of my body.

I pull the bullet again and I scream. The bullet was moving slowly, and the edges of it scraped against the sensitive cells inside me, already swollen from impact. My arms shake again as I pull faster and faster. It was like I was mutilating myself, and I could barely hang on to the image of the bullet in my minds eye.

Sweat drips from my forehead and my vision is completely covered by black spots. Unimaginable pain shoots through me. I can hear my own heart beat in my shoulders and hands. It was like counting the last seconds of my life. I scream again, the bullet ripping through the last of my muscle and the end of the bullet coming out of my skin. I double over, my breath coming in ragged gasps and the door behind me slams open in an ear splitting 'CRASH'.

"What are you doing!" I hear a deep male voice yell over my newest scream. Jamison, the head of security. My scream ends and I bite the inside of my cheek, to stop myself from doing it again.

Dinah snaps her head to his voice behind her. "She's pulling the bullet out of her shoulder!"

Jamison doesn't answer, but I hear his footsteps slam against the ground towards me. I pull the bullet farther from my shoulder and my eyes snap open. Half of it was out. Just a little more now. One last push. I suck in a breath. Jamison's footsteps come around the couch and the large body of Bruce Wayne. My right hand reaches out to the bullet, and Bruce loosens his grip on me, somehow knowing what I wanted. His hand is still on my arm and I let my hand cradle the opening of the bullet wound. I clench my teeth and then push with all of my leftover will.

The bullet slices through the bloody and swollen skin. A hiss of pain escapes my lips, and the bullet falls into my waiting hand. Blood rushes out of my shoulder. I grasp the bullet like it was my life saver. A black screen comes over my eyes, and I fight the sleeping feeling taking over me with the last, the very last, of my strength reserves. I open my eyes and collapse forwards. The blackness follows me.

I don't know who, maybe it was several people, but someone catches me falling forwards. Hands were still on my arms, so it _was _more than one person, and I sink into the hands without a fight. I was done. I had fought for more today than I had ever fought for anything, and _still_ I lost.

Andres was dead. My mentor. My advisor. My legal father. My friend.

He was gone, forever. Just like my Miranda.

"I'm sorry," I hear my voice say, empty of all emotion. "I failed. Again."

And then the darkness consumed my body, eating all my pain, my loss, my emotion away from me in a swift and final moment of exhaustion.

* * *

><p>I open my eyes to a thick, black, darkness. <em>Is this death?<em> I think to myself. I lift my head and pain rips down my spine and the entire left side of my body. _Negatorry, death wouldn't hurt this badly. _

"Hello?" I call out to the darkness around me. Was someone was here? Wait, where the hell was I?

A light switch flips on from beside whatever I'm lying on. I instinctively look to the light, and then immediately look away after a burst of pain that hits me. "Let your eyes adjust," a female voice says softly, musically.

I blink a couple of times and look up hesitantly. I knew who it was. She was always there when I was at my lowest. "Dinah," I say, my voice coming out raw and like sandpaper.

Her wig is gone, all makeup is absent of her face and I can see small bags under her blue eyes. She sits on a large wooden chair with her legs crossed and her hands resting on her lap. Elegant and sophisticated, like a royal queen. "We're on Bruce's plane to fly you to a private clinic in Gotham."

Her words come to me slow and distorted, like I was listening to a bad radio connection. "Bruce? Bruce Wayne?" I ask, my eyebrows coming together in confusion. Why was I in his plane? Where was Andres? Why did I hurt so much? Why was I-

Memories flood my mind like a breaking dam, and I can literally feel my shoulders sag in grief and fresh depression at the flash of information. "What happened?" I gasp out, tears forming in my eyes.

But I knew what had happened. I had failed. I hadn't saved Andres. I didn't stop Jerome. After all my new training... After nonstop days of exhaustion to be a better warrior... I failed. I had failed _again._ Again. Shame hit me like a dead weight; tears broke from my eyes and fell down my cheeks in tiny droplets.

"Andres's body was cremated yesterday, as were his instructions on his will. Jerome's body was retrieved by the Bolivian police the day before. The business meeting was cancelled and as of three days ago, you were announced as the leading CEO of Andres's old and new company. The 'Alarico y de la Compañía' _Alarico and Company_ and the newest company name, 'Protección' _Protection," _she told me calmly and slowly. I realized she knew how off the edge I was.

"I own both of them?"

"And all that Andres ever owned in his name."

"How is that even possible?" I lift my head again, and pain lashes out at me like lightning. I lean back down in the bed.

Dinah leans forwards as if to help me, but then settles back in the chair when she realizes I'm not stupid enough to do that again. "You were named Andres's legal heir and successor to everything he owned in his will."

"When was his will read out?" my voice is cold and clipped.

"Seven hours after he had died." Dinah's voice is still smooth and calm. My own little therapist.

"Why wasn't I-"

"The business men had every right to know if they had just inherited funding or stock from the newly deceased man Jezebelle. That's how business is. There is no remorse or patience. There is only the next paycheck."

I stay silent for a moment, knowing every word was the truth. Business waited for no one. "How long have I been out?"

"Three days."

Well, that was longer than I had expected. But..."Why am I on Bruce Wayne's plane?"

"No medical facility in Bolivia could properly take care of you there while you-"

Wait, what? "Whose decision was it to move me away from where I was?" I narrow my eyes on her face.

"It was a decision Bruce and I both made based on your current health and-"

"You and _Bruce? Like as in Bruce Wayne?"_ I ask, dumbstruck. "Who says that any of you get the power to decide my plans? Who are you to move on Andres's own plans without me? WHY was this done while I was asleep?"

"Jezebelle, people needed answers and you were asleep the entire time the police and the business men were-"

"Then you wait for me!" I yell. "You can't just call the shots for me! I'm not some-"

"Jezebelle! You weren't responsive to anything or anyone! From what anyone could tell, you were in a comatose state set off by the shock of your bullet wound and the death of your new parent! You needed help! And the only professionals trained enough to handle special cases such as you are found in Gotham, Metropolis and-"

"I'm a healer!" I full blown yell at her. "I can heal people nearly four or five times faster than they could by themselves and I heal twice as fast as any healthy normal person. I didn't need to be moved away from where I was! I was fine where I was!"

Dinah's voice is sound like a whisper compared to mine. Steel lined each word with confidence making them light themselves in my mind like a light bulb in a dark room. "Physical healing isn't the same as mental healing."

Realization hits me and I almost drop my mouth to the ground. "Are you taking me to a shrink?"

Dinah looks away from me, like she's annoyed. "Something like that."

"NO way!" I yell, being loud again. "No freaking way! You can't make me go in and do that!"

"You bet I can!" she yells back now, her hands in fists on her lap. "You just witnessed _two_ deaths of people you were attached to in the last nine mon-"

"You're not my mother!" I yell at her, my face getting hot from rage. "You can't tell me what I can and cannot do!" My voice rises to a scream. "You have no right-"

"I have every right!" she yells back, but a bit quieter than me. "As a bystander, I can report this to the state and _make_ you take those sessions as a precaution of you being mentally unstable to the public."

My drops down. "You wouldn't."

Dinah levels her gaze with mine. "Just try me."

I snap my jaw close and swallow back my retort. It _definitely_ wouldn't help my cause right now. "But..." I almost want to whisper. "I don't want to." My reply was quiet and I feel stupid for saying it out loud. But it was the truth. I really, _really_ didn't want to do that.

Dinah looks at me and then crosses her arms over her stomach. "It's good then that that's not your only option now isn't it?"

I look up at her between my eyelashes. What? "What do you mean?"

Dinah looks back at me and I raise my head so we're eye to eye. "My offer... I am a licensed therapist. Instead of going through the state sessions, you could just go through the League sessions with me while training."

I was walking on dangerous ground. If I said yes, I was connected to the hip with _the_ Black Canary, not to mention _the_ Justice League. Though if I said no, I was probably going to be sent to a state therapist. Yea, that was _definitely_ not going to happen. "Define 'training' for me."

"Training," Dinah raises her arms like it's the most obvious answer in the world. "The exercises and practices you went through with your old mentor 'Sir', who might I add, I know on a personal level."

My eyebrows rise. "You know Sir?"

Dinah nods. "Once upon a long time ago, we were allies against a common enemy."

"Who was it against?" I ask, my face leaning forwards curiously. "Did you guys-"

"Another story for another time," she cuts me off with a small smile. "Though the exercises will most likely be similar, I'm going to start you on a whole new practice of fighting."

I look away. This was getting close to a yes. But..."How long would I have to do sessions?" I ask.

Dinah sits and contemplates quietly and I'm tempted to look at her face. Silence. "Until I feel you're ready," she answers finally.

I look up at her with a snap of my neck. "What does that mean?...Wait, did you burn all of the blood that I had bled out after I passed out?"

Dinah turns her head slightly. "Yes, I figured that's what you wanted when you had asked Karina for rags, oil and a lighter. Why?"

I look away. "Nothing, just it needs to be done every time I bleed on something, or I give away my DNA."

"Is it a genetic thing... or is it-"

"Something I'm not ready to discuss with you yet." I look back at her and pretend to make a snappy comeback so she will forget this ... awkward moment. "What does 'until I'm ready' mean?"

"It means, until you're ready to move on by yourself," she says buying into this change of topic... for now.

I cock my head to one side. "I _can_ do it by myself."

She shakes her head lightly. "Not this time. I won't let you." I open my mouth to protest, but Dinah suddenly leans forwards and flips something on the bed I'm lying in. Speaking of... What kind of bed was this?

"What are you..." I suddenly feel light headed and a warm fuzziness enters my stomach, whispering for me to sleep. "Did you just... dope me up with medzzzzz..?" I ask, my eyes drooping and my body relaxing.

I see the smallest sliver of Dinah smiling. "Night Jez. We'll talk more when you wake up."

I shake my head and force my eyes open. "Dinah?" I ask.

I feel her presence near me. "Yes?"

"Your offer and... therapy... I just wanted to say-" I hiccup and my eyes close. "Yes." Then I collapse myself into a sweet dreamless sleep, my shoulders throbbing dulls to a slight nudge on my left side.

* * *

><p>I wake up next with florescent lights hitting me in the face. I squint painfully and I flinch from the harsh light. "Whaa.." I say.<p>

Dinah's voice greets me. "It's okay. You're in a League hospital."

I turn my head to her voice and I feel myself smile painfully. My shoulder was put to a dull throbbing, but the rest of my muscles from me and Dinah's fight, protested in pain from just breathing. Man I really did a number on myself. "You guys have your own hospital?" I open my eyes and I immediately see Dinah's blonde head, blue eyes and... a black leather jacket. Black Canary get up.

She smiles, and I feel myself relax. _Focus Jezebelle, you have things to do_. "It's used for League members and occasional friends of the League," she smiles.

"What does that make me?"

"Somewhere in between."

I smile, totally fake. "So then... what's the prognosis doc?" I motion down to my body.

"Bullet wounds mostly healed, but I'm gonna have you here for a few more days, just in case."

I nod and I fake my best smile. "Ahhhh...So what now?"

Dinah looks at my smile, and then stands up slowly, buying my happy façade. "Now, I have to go to a League meeting. Lucky, it's pretty close to here, so I won't be too far."

I nod. "You leaving?"

She nods. "Only for a while. After that... I think we should talk."

I nod again. "Okay."

She smiles a little again and I sink into my pillows. She turns away from me and I watch her go to the hospital door. "Can you turn off the lights when you leave? The fluorescents are killing my eyes."

She turns around and flips the switch for the lights off. "No problem. See you in a bit."

"See you," I say back and watch as she closes the door behind her.

I wait exactly fifteen seconds before I pull myself upwards in a sitting position. A wave of dizziness hits me, and I hold my head until the tide passes. Then I push the white blankets off of my body, my shoulder silently throbbing with every stretch of the muscle. I swing my feet off of the bed. Looking down at myself, a small smile comes to my face. I wasn't wearing one of those hospital smocks. I must have just got here. Instead, I'm wearing black sweats and a white tank top. I don't know who changed me, but I'm guessing it was Dinah.

My bare feet touch the linoleum floor and I bite my lip. Considering the blood I lost, I was probably going to be really weak. My toes wiggle on the floor and I make a decision, without really thinking it through. I stand up quickly. Dizziness smacks me across the face and I lurch forwards. Yea... not smart. My knees collapse and I hit the floor, out stretched hands first. I turn my body as I land, right before my forehead smacks the floor and I feel my hip take the impact. Ohhhh that was going to hurt later.

I shake my head slowly, annoyed at my continued failure. I push my arms upwards, and my upper body picks itself up from the floor. My arms shake from the process and I take a deep breath. Maybe it had been too soon to move... "Seriously?" I ask myself.

Ah fug nugget it. I grab the hospital bed beside me and I lift myself from the floor with grim determination. I stand beside the bed. I take another deep breath and let go of the bed. Let's try this again...

I take a step forwards hesitantly, and then another. I walk across the room slowly, and I let myself smile slowly. Not too shabby, I was doin pretty damn good. My ankle chooses this moment to twist and the wall catches me before I crash to the ground again. My head hits the white plaster and I lean up against it as my knees sag.

"Ouch," I say looking up at the white ceiling. I push myself off the wall. I look around and I see a lone wooden door. I make my way to it and it reveals a small bathroom with several small shelves. Stacks of clothes lined across the shelves with rows of different shoes and shoe sizes along the bottom. It was a mini closet from a hobo's dreamland.

I scan the clothes; close the bathroom door and I see an overlarge red and white checkered farm boy styled shirt. I pick it out of the stack, pull my arms threw and then tie the two end of the button up shirt under my chest, so it made a kind of half shirt.

"Now, jeans..." I look through the stacks and I find a pair of extra-long size five skinny jeans. "That was... coincidental." I pull off the sweats and put on the skinny jeans. My new found muscles fill in the jeans and I grin at my reflection from the bathroom mirror. Not too bad really... I grab a pair of black flip flops a little too big for me. Finally, I pull my hair into a high ponytail and open the bathroom door.

The light was still off and I walk to the bed silently. I put some of my pillows under the blankets and I pull them up where my head should be, so it made a body shaped mass from far away. This was a text book classic sneak out cover, and it would only last for a couple of minutes if not seconds.

"Okay," I tell myself. I walk away to my hospital room door and open it quietly. Nothing. No guards, no people at all. "Huh." I make my way forwards down the empty hallway with the small clack of the back of my flip flops hitting the back of my feet as the only sound around me. "What the heck?" I look around me. "What no security cameras?" I start running down the hallway and around a bend of the corner.

Still. There wasn't a soul around. Nada. But, I did see a computer. "Justice League building, which makes this a Justice League computer..." should I even consider... "Should I touch it?" I lean against the closest wall and shrug my shoulders. "Ah what the hell. I should see where I am anyways."

I walk over to the computer and move the mouse. A login pops up, and I was betting that it had multiple firewalls protecting whatever was beneath it. I contemplate seeing how far I could get in the firewalls, but I push myself away from the computer before I touch it again. "Not even worth it. Would take too long without the right equipment."

I walk away and walk into the next room. This one had an 'EXIT' sign. "Oh, perfect," I smile. "Great timing too." I push against the door, and I feel a lock click into place. No way. I turn around immediately to check for cameras watching me, and I realize I'm in one of the freaking _Justice League_ buildings. Cameras weren't meant to be found around here. I sigh and turn back to the door. I feel around the edges of the lock, and I push lightly. Double steel plated doors. Probably a foot thick. Yea, I couldn't try and break it down with a well-aimed kick.

Instead, I reach under my shirt from the back, and feel under the flap of my bra strap at the bottom. There, hidden and tucked away, was a thin flexible piece of metal. Always been there since after the kidnapping in Mexico, I kept a thin piece of metal in every one of my bra's. I pulled out the metal and shoved it in the slit of the key hole. Electricity charged out of the door and I grabbed an electric magnet from the side of the door next to me. I put it over the tip of the back of the metal piece and two seconds later, the door popped open.

I stepped out. Then the doorway above me flashed red and white and an ear splitting siren hit the air like a police siren. I looked up at the glowing door way and the open exit door, and I took off without a second thought, leaving the Justice League building behind me.

* * *

><p>Dinah stepped into the League meeting with easy steps, but with a doubtful mind. She had just left Jezebelle, and she knew that girl was up to something. No one smiles right after their supposed 'father' dies. She sat down at the circular table as the last one to arrive. "Right, now that everyone is here, we all have a few things to go over," Superman starts the meeting with the rest of the members. "For starters of today's meeting-"<p>

"Is she contained?" Batman cut in to Superman's sentence, looking at Dinah.

Superman looked at Dinah confused for the moment, and rest of the League's eyes landed on Dinah as well. "She's safely in her room," Dinah answered, meeting Batman's eyes. "Although, as for her mental condition... I think we should look into that at a closer length."

Batman nodded. "She should go into immediate treatment for the next-"

"I know what she needs Batman. I was there as well."

A silence hung in the room as the League members watched the two masters of martial arts stare at each other. "Is this about Jezebelle?" Superman asked, stopping the tense sparks that Batman and Black Canary were throwing at each other.

Black Canary looked at Superman. "Yes. She's staying here at the med bay until I can transfer her to my own home where I can keep watch over her for a longer period of time."

"She's here?" Wonder woman raised an eyebrow.

"For the moment."

"I thought she was in Bolivia?" Hawk woman asked, coming into the conversation.

"She was moved back to the states after her adoptive father was shot, on we believe, Lex Luthor's orders," Batman said.

"Wait I thought she was only living with him. When did he adopt her?" Superman asked, looking over at Batman.

"Not too long ago," Black Canary answered instead.

"Luthor attempted to kill her while Batman and I were there undercover. Jezebelle figured out it was him and had him thrown out. Later, he had someone else come in and shoot Andres after he shot Jezebelle herself."

"When did this happen?" Wonder woman asked looking at the two heroes back and forth.

"Four days ago," Batman answered. "She was hurt and unstable. Black Canary has volunteered to be her mentor until she feels she can join the Young Justice."

"Join Young Justice? I thought-" Green Lantern asked with raised eyebrows.

"She's more than qualified John," Green Arrow said, stepping in. "Black Canary, Batman, and I have all witnessed her fighting and her powers. She has a good heart and for the most part, sound judgment."

"Is this the same girl who stopped Poison Ivy eight months ago in the Wayne Enterprise break in?" Hawk man asked.

"The same," Black Canary nodded.

"Speaking of the break in," Superman said, trying to steer the conversation back onto the new information he had learned. "Though she did not take the particle accelerator, The Light has stolen some other very expensive and potentially dangerous machinery in the last eight months. Machinery parts that could, if programmed right, take away peoples powers in their very atoms."

"Is that even possible?" Flash asked his expression doubtful.

"According to the math, it is," Batman answered.

Flash nodded. "Well, you can't fool math." He sat back in his chair. "If it really is possible though, that could be dangerous to everyone. Not just us. If they manipulate it, they could even eliminate cells that are vital to human beings."

"They could turn it into some kind of death ray," Green Lantern nodded. "Which would be bad... for just about everyone."

"What parts are they missing from the machine? Maybe if we can collect them all, we could forcibly stop their-"Hawk Woman started.

Suddenly, the blank screen next to them turned on and ear spitting sirens began to scream into their ears. "What is this?" Black Canary screamed, her hands coming over her ears on instinct.

The screen blinked to life and the League looked as one to the screen showing a security camera's point of view of an exit sign and a tall brunette girl opening the door with a small piece of metal in her hands. "Jezebelle!" Dinah yelled over the sirens.

The League watched as the girls eyes went wide from the sound of the siren and then looked around. _She's gonna run_, Dinah thought to herself. Then the girl returned to her senses with a blink of her eyes, turned on her heel and ran out of the door as fast as she could. _Called it_, Dinah thought.

Batman opened a holographic screen and typed some letters into the see threw screen. Computer code flashed onto the screen for a second, and then the alarms went off a second later.

The League sighed in relief. "Geez, I really didn't want to lose my earing until I was eighty," Flash complained rotating his jaw and tipping his head to one like he was pushing his water out of his head.

"Should I go after her?" Green Lantern said standing up.

"-Yes," said Batman.

"-No," Black Canary said at the same moment.

The Green Lantern looked at both of the heroes, and immediately sat back down in his chair, trying to suddenly become invisible. Could the ring do that for him?

Black Canary met Batman's eyes. "My ward, my rules." Batman sat still and no expression of words escaped his cloaked figure. Dinah nodded in thanks to her small victory. "Let her go. She has been gone for nearly nine months. Where's the first place you would go after coming back to your old neighborhood after everything she's been through?"

The League was silent, and some of their heads turned downwards. They knew where they would all go if they were in her shoes. They would visit the dead. "She'll visit her sister and then her old home. She will need to let go before she's ready to move on and start the life of ... a hero." Dinah stood up and made her way to the television. "How did she even get out?" she turned to Batman. "I thought all the doors were locked and electrified."

"They are," Batman answered seriously. "She used a magnet and a piece of metal to manipulate the door to open for her."

"She did that?" Green Lanterns eyebrows rose.

"And then set off the alarm," Batman nodded.

Dinah touched the television screen and a blue map popped up onto the screen. A single red dot showed up and Dinah widened the view of the computer map, so the red dot was shown on a street with white signatures, showing where buildings, roads, and other various landmarks were found. "The clothes still have the trackers in them?"

Batman nodded from behind her. "Always."

Dinah nodded at the screen, hearing Batman's answer from behind her. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the map. "Good. Now it's only a matter of time." She turned back to the waiting League and she sat back down in her seat. "So the machinery the Light is looking for..."

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><p><strong>OKAY SORRY<strong>

**I lied. ... 0.0 ... I know... Im sorry.**

**I didn't add anything I said I was going to add... sorry. This had to come before I did those things...**

**BUTTT, next chapter, she'll meet Batman, throw knives in a fury, and ... :)**

**SO SORRY, but it will come next chapter. Sorry of the Andres Dying part made you cry :(**

**~ Missmusicluver**

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	24. Chapter 24

**Sorry guys, this chapters a little shorter than usual.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Except Jezebelle. I own her.**

* * *

><p>I run as fast as my legs will take me. The siren of the Justice League's one of many safe havens fade behind me as my feet continued to hit the pavement. I know the siren would alert them to my leaving, and I only had so much time before they caught up to me. I had to run like the devil was chasing me if I didn't want to get pulled back to that hospital.<p>

Of course, I didn't really get too far. After about two miles, my breathing had become labored, and my muscles seized together in powerful spasms. I collapsed against the closest thing to me which just happened to be the wall of an old ware house. I collapse to my butt and my back slides down against the cold concrete wall until the back of my head is leaning backwards against the wall and my arms are resting on bent knees. Shuddering gasps rock my body and I inhale furiously, attempting to force oxygen into my lungs.

My heart rate slows and I feel my body shake on its own from the excursion. My hands move on their own accord rapidly and I wrap my fingers around each other before I force my body to calm and relax. I breathe in and out with measured breaths and I feel my shoulders relax. My back sinks into the cement behind it and I feel like I'm going to just fall through the wall and go to sleep. My eyes close for a moment and I shake myself, remind myself I had no idea where I even was. Speaking of which...

I pull my head down and I take a look around at my surroundings. "Woah, this place is a dump." All around me, cement walls of dingy gray and muck covered dumpsters filled the area. The ground was a dull gray of old asphalt and even the air around me, seemed to taste of dirt and vile. I immediately pick myself up from the ground. "Gross," I whisper. I dust myself off quickly and move forwards from the wall I was leaning on.

Down from where I stood was a dirty street with iron barred windows lining the few shops on the street. Cars with busted windows and noticeable dents in the metal sat in various places around the street. A couple of people were walking the streets, their eyes down cast and hands in their pockets. I would bet money that they were all carrying some kind of concealed weapon. People hid in the shadows of the building on the other side of the street from me, and a shiver went down my spine. No one was talking, the only sound the street made as the wind and the occasional car going down the otherwise empty street.

Where the heck was I?

I walk out onto the street and I turn to the closest street sign. "Grund Street," I say out loud, reading carefully. Grund Street... yea wasn't ringing a bell.

A lone passerby walks past me. "Um... Excuse me," I call out to the ... male? IT turns around. Okay, female. She was short with a black trench coat on, and her greasy black hair was cut to beneath her ear lobes. "Hi," I say when her glassy brown eyes meet mine. "Uh, I was wondering where I was."

"Grund Street," her thin voice states like a huff. She turns around, prepared to leave again.

"Uh... yea I caught that," I say to her turning back softly. "_Actually_-" she turned back around to me with her beady eyes narrowed in annoyance. "I was wondering if anywhere around here had a phone I could use so that I could call my uh... dad- to uh... to pick me up." Yea, cause that sounded normal.

The old woman fixed her eyes on me with a steady gaze. "You won't find working phones on this street." I sighed in annoyance. Just wonderful. "But," she said pointing past my head. "You could find one in the cemetery's office building."

I turn around, lining my vision with her pointed finger. The area was bleak to say in the nicest. It was a large gray building with a gray sign that said 'Gotham Cemetery' on the front and was surrounded by a black iron gate with a pointy top. Okay 'bleak' was too nice a word to describe this. This place was in between 'DAMN UGLY' and "FREAKING SCARY SHIZ." I swear.

I turn back around, thank the old woman and turn to the cemetery. Did I want to go there? Hells no. Did I kind of have to? Hell yes. Who knew what the Justice League was doing right now, and if they were trying to find me.

"Carry this girly," the woman croaks out from behind me. She pokes me in the back with something sharp and I turn around at her, ready to throw her down the block.

"Wha-" I look down. She is holding out four sharp knives. "What?" I ask my eyebrows raising higher on my forehead then they had previously. 'What are you-"

The woman shoved the knives into my hands, looked left and right, and then ducked her head underneath her trench coat, before walking away from me half running down the street.

My hands automatically grasp the knives with a tight grasp. I looked back at the disappearing woman, before turning around with four shiny knives clutched in my hands. People were starting to look at me from the shadows. I put the knives in the back of my pocket, and the handles of the knives stuck out from the back of my butt. So much for concealed weapons. Mine's out in the open.

I walk quickly and I duck my head in the streets shadows. My feet move me across the street and up a grassy slope. Then through an iron gate and up stone steps to a wooden door. I don't knock, and I don't grab a business card at the beginning of the front desk. Instead I ring the small bell inside the Cemetery and I wait silently, my head still downcast.

"Can I help you?" a womanly voice asks me. I hear the sharp click of her high heels attack the tiled floor and it almost makes me wince. I didn't know her, and I didn't like her.

"I need to use your phone," I say thinly.

"There's a pay phone down the street." It wasn't a helpful tone, it was dripping with a 'im-better-than-you-so-f***-off' tone.

I sigh mentally. "I was just down the street and I didn't come across one, so can I use the one in here?"

"Who said we have a phone?"

My face drops in disbelief. "There's one right behind you."

The woman turns around and stares hatefully at the metal telephone that was, undoubtedly, right behind her. She turns back to me with a pinched face. "Five minuets."

I watch her leave. "That's all I'll need."

She turns back to me, pinches her ugly face in a lost battle and turns away, out the door. I turn back to the phone. It sat on a wooden desk next to an open thick book filled with writing. It was a silver colored phone, with bright white buttons and a long silver cord and it stared at me with disdain. A phone call. That's all I was gonna do, make a phone call.

I nod to myself and pick up the silver phone before I lose my nerve. Now all I had to do was dial the phone number. I admit, I hesitated. I pushed the first button, the second, and furiously dialed the rest of the number in a flash. God, I hadn't called her in... eight and a half months. She was sure to be _pissed. _The phone rung.

My head glances down at the open thick book that sat on the same table as the phone did. Writing filled each page, and I squint my eyes to look at it better.

The phone rings again.

Names. The book was filled with names and their death dates.

The phone rings again.

My finger travels down the list of waiting names. Kabon, Kanny, Kaper, Karson, Kassy, Kastin, Kasven, Keannel, Keaper, Keating...

The phone rings.

My finger stops at the last name and my heart stops. Keating. My finger slides to the left to see the first name. Miranda. I stop breathing.

The phone rings.

Miranda Keating. I can't look away from the name right in front of me, and I can't seem to restart my heart. She was buried here... My eyes seem to darken, and my mind lapses back to the night she was shot. Her little blonde head in a body bag, her death certificate being flashed in front of my face, the pitying looks of the doctors and nurses around me.

The phone rings.

My heart restarts and my mind comes back to the present. But she was buried here...

"Hello?" a teenage girl's voice asks from the other side of the phone.

I can't seem to forget Miranda, my Miranda's body lying somewhere in the ground around here. "Hi," I say to the phone. "Listen, I'll uh... I'll call you back." My head comes away from the phone.

"Jezebelle?" Her voice breaks and it crashes the numbness that has seeped into my brain.

I clutch the phone in my hand. "Abrianna?"

Silence. "Oh my god... Jezebelle is this really you?" she asks her voice growing louder.

I swallow. "Yea... yea it is, but umm, I- I kind of have to go," I say shaking my head. What the hell did I just do?

"What? You have got to be kidding me. Jezebelle..."

"yea, I know. I'm kind of acting like an ass right now, but I _really_ do have to go. I'll call you back today. I want to see you now that I'm back."

"Back?" she asks. "Wait, where'd you go?"

I smile to the phone. "Places you wouldn't believe. I'll call you back and tell you all about it."

"Wait, before you leave!" her voice shouts to me as I'm placing the phone down.

I put the phone close to my ear again.

"Just come and see me. You know where I live, and where school still is. Just… stop by. I've got a lot to tell you too."

Something in her voice felt… off. Like she was, nervous? Tired? Scared? "Um… yea, okay. I'll do that."

"Great, bye."

"Bye." And just like that my first conversation with my best friend in eight and a half months ended. "Well, that was… yea." I hang up the phone and look at the book on the table.

"Are you done?" the secretary's snide voice reaches out to me from the doorway to the left of me.

I turn my head to her. "Yea, I am; thanks." She nods and steps up to the phone with me.

"Don't touch the paperwork," she snaps, closing the heavy book on itself.

I pull my hands away from the closing pages and lift them in surrender. "Sorry, it was already open."

"Well, don't touch things that aren't yours. Didn't your mother ever tell you that?"

I shrug a shoulder nonchalantly. "She probably would have if she were alive."

That shuts her up for a moment. "Sorry," she suddenly whispers. "I know how that is."

I glance at her, half shocked and half calculating. "Don't be. You didn't know her." I take the book from her hands and flip open to the page where Miranda's name is. "Where is her grave located?" I ask pointing to her name.

The woman looks down at the name I'm pointing too and she squints her eyes in thought. "Keating… Keating…Keating… Oh! That's out by the rose wall."

"The rose wall? Where is that?" I close the book and place it down on the table.

"It's straight out the dirt path on the left side of the Cemetery. You'll find it's grave right under a white rose archway."

"A white rose archway?"

"Yea, some rich guy about eight months ago bought the grave a seven foot tall archway and had guys come and plant white roses on the archway."

I turn my head to the side in thought. Two guesses to who it was. "What was the rich guy's name?"

The woman looked down at the closed book for a moment. "Oh uh… something Wayne… you know that really cute guy on the business magazines?" I mentally sigh. Of course, because our relationship wasn't weird enough at the moment. "Uhh… oh! I know! Bruce Wayne! That's the guy that did it. Bruce Wayne!"

I smile sourly and shake my head slowly. This day just kept getting better and better.

"The girl, the one you're asking about, did you know her?" The woman's voice was quiet and small, like a mouse.

I look up at the snotty secretary. "Yea. She was family."

She shuffled her feet beneath her. "Daughter?"

My eyes widen for a moment before I shake my head. "Little sister."

The secretary moves out of the way for me to walk by her. "Sorry."

I take her opening and walk to the door. "Don't be. Like I said, you didn't know her." I open the door and step out without a glance back.

* * *

><p>The League meeting ended and Dinah stood up, her legs aching from sitting down for so long. "Well that was fun," her boyfriend Oliver said standing up beside her.<p>

Other League members stood up and began to leave from the meeting. "Remind me, why didn't we just have this meeting in Watchtower?" Flash said standing up as well and shaking out his unused legs.

"Everyone was closer to this place after the mission from the Intergang hijack," Dinah answered calmly. She pressed her thumb against a computer screen and it came to life in an instant. A layout of Gotham popped onto the screen and in the various rectangles and white lines, there was a single red dot.

"She's in the cemetery?" Oliver asked raising an eyebrow.

"Where else would she be after eight and a half months to coming back?" Dinah asked raising an eyebrow back at him.

Oliver had nothing to say back. Flash smiled good naturally. "How long has she been there?" he asked, saving Oliver from further embarrassment.

Dinah looked back at the screen. "About a half hour."

"So not too long then. She could just be talking to someone she met, or stopping to ask for directions."

Oliver raised his eyebrow again. "For thirty minuets?"

Flash shrugged a shoulder. "You're all slow in everything you do. How am I supposed to know how fast you move in asking directions?"

"You're the fastest man in the world! Of course everything seems slower to you compared to us. But that doesn't mean it takes us thirty minuets to ask for directions!"

Flash put his hands up in surrender. "Listen I was just-"

"It's okay Flash, besides, I know where she is. Now all I have to do is wait."

Flash and Oliver's argument seemed to deflate. Oliver glanced at Flash before speaking. "Yea, just let her come back when she's ready. Bringing a teenager back by force isn't the smartest move. Trust me. Roy and I had serious issues when it came to that."

"Yea, we've all seen the arguments between you two. Bringing teenagers in against their will starts bad things. Wally gets rebellious and runs away. And it was only last week when the newest recruit, Abby set the lobby door in Mt. Justice on fire after Dinah wouldn't let her leave before training ended," Flash added in. "Force just doesn't work on teenagers."

"She set the door on fire?" Oliver asked with raised eyebrows.

"She's the pyrokenesis," Flash explained.

"Oh."

Dinah nodded. "I'll... I'll just wait then."

* * *

><p>I walk the thin dirt path that criss crossed over the cemetery floors. Graves of every shape, size and even color past me with every step I took. Some were gigantic marble headstones with enormous angel statues beside them, looking forbidding and even fearful. Some were surrounded by trees or flowers, like a small ocean of color for the dead body beneath the cemented name. But, most were the normal three feet tall gray, cement, curved blocks with their names, birth and death dates engraved on the front side of them. There were rows and rows of them, all looking the same, all standing upwards in reminder of the dead that lay beneath them.<p>

I walk faster down the path, my hands clenched at my sides. So many lost loved ones... I glance down at the passing names and the permanent dates marked on their tombstones. How many tears would there be if you counted all the pain this cemetery carried? Would it be enough tears to fill a lake? An ocean?

I glance at another passing names, and my feet stop on their own accord as my eyes catch upon a familiar name. A giant marble plaque stands eleven feet tall. Two enormous angels stand on either side, their hands and faces upraised to the sky as if crying out for water. On the front of the tombstone, two names were clearly engraved in the blue-gray marble. 'Martha Wayne' and 'Thomas Wayne'. Underneath them, stood their birth and death dates, with a small quote on the very bottom.

I step closer to the grave, and my eyes look down at the deeply engraved name. Wayne. Martha and Thomas Wayne. They had died way before I was even born, but none the same, they had been people. They had had lives, and even a son. Bruce. They had left him.

How Bruce must have felt, being a boy at that age... Though I didn't know a lot, Andres had made me study every one of the business men's backgrounds after the first night. I knew that Bruce had only been ten years old. That he had watched his parents die in front of him. The thoughts that must have gone through his mind... The hate he must have felt. The sadness he must still have... If it had been me, I would have wanted revenge. Revenge that would have stopped the man from ever harming another soul again. From ever taking away someone else's loved ones. He must have been traumatized.

I look up closer at their names, and I almost want to reach out and touch the marble. To feel the rough and smooth edges of the cut stone. "Thank you," I whisper out to their names. "For giving the world Bruce." I look away from the stone and I smirk at myself. This was ridiculous. I was stronger than this, reminiscing the past was beyond me now. I was stronger. Harder.

I snort in thin amusement, and then look at their names with serious eyes. "For giving the world a man who was there for me at the wrong moments, and then there to pull me out of a dark haze at just the right time." I pull away from the marble and turn my back on the tombstone as I walk back on the dirt path. "Thank you."

Batman stepped into the conference room and saw Black Canary, Flash and Green Arrow talking. "Flash, your nephew is requesting to see you," Batman stated in a monotone. The group looked over at the newest hero and Flash looked chagrinned.

"Oh yea, I told him I'd meet up with him tonight." Flash turned back to Black Canary. "Tell me how it ends later, kay?"

Dinah smiled softly. "Okay."

Flash nodded to Green Arrow and the Batman. "See you in a Flash." And then he was gone.

Batman walked over to the couple. "What's going on?"

Oliver stepped in before Dinah could get a word out. "She's worried about Jezebelle."

"The tracker is still on her?" Batman asked coolly.

"Yea," Oliver answered.

"Then there shouldn't be an issue."

"There isn't an issue Bruce, she's just been out for a while."

Batman paused, thoughts flying through his mind impossibly fast. He made a decision. "If she hasn't come back at sun set, I'll go for her myself."

Then, the Dark Knight turned and left as fast as he had come in. Oliver's jaw had dropped in surprise, and Dinah's eyes had widened. "Okay," she breathed out in equal surprise.

* * *

><p>I stand over Miranda's grave, my hands clenched at my sides and my teeth set painfully against each other. In front of me stood an eight foot tall white painted arch with green vines twisted around and through the wooden monument. White flowers poked out all around the arch and fallen rose petals littered the ground, right in front of the small marble tombstone.<p>

Her name pops out to me on the blue-gray marble. Her birth and death date are set just beneath it, engraved deeply into the stone to remind me how final her death really is. My whole world laid right under a chunk of stone.

"Hey," I say moving forwards, closer to her name. There is no answer, and I know there will never be one again. I take a shaky breath. "I'm sorry it took me so long to get here and see you," I say falling to my knees on the rose petalled grass. "I haven't been in this city for a long time," I explain. The sound of a faraway sprinkler reaches my ears, and it's the only noise I hear except for the throbbing heart beat in my chest.

I fake a small smile. "You wouldn't believe what's happened to me since you've been gone." I shake my head at her. "I traveled to Mexico and ate street food off a side of the road grill, and met a man who gave me two extra churros," I smile softly. "You would have loved him for it."

I sit down all the way on the grass and I cross my legs Indian style over each other in front of me. "After that, I went to Panama and sat on the beach with a turtle I named Joe," I smile a little wider. "And right before I left there, I healed a girl who could have been your twin!" I shake my head playfully at the memory. "The only thing that set you two apart were your eyes and language." I laugh. "She had green eyes and couldn't speak a word of English."

I look at the grass under her head stone. "You would have loved it Miranda. You would have loved all the sights, the food, the people and their culture. You would have loved it all."

My grin turns sour and my hands clench together. "And It's not fair," I whisper to her. My hands shake. "You were perfect. You only did your best at everything, and you smiled like the whole world unfazed your innocence." I look down at my lap. "You... you were innocent."

My whole body tenses, and I can feel the back of my eyes itch. Tears fill my vision. "And I'm sorry," I choke out. "I was right there, and I couldn't save my baby," I whisper over the noise of the sprinkler. "I was only a block away." Tears fall down my face. "Only just out of your reach, only far enough away to be unable to stop the bullet."

Anger fills my body, and my tears come out bitter and heated. "I should have been there to stop it. I should have never let you get on that bus. I should have tried harder. I should run faster to you. And... It... it should have been me." I nod to myself. Yes. "It should have been me."Tears fall down my face, landing on the ground beneath me. "I-I-It should have been me," I sob out to her. For her to understand me. To forgive me. "I- God baby, I'm so sorry," my voice breaks.

My arms strain against the muscle, and my whole body is shaking in the effort not to scream, to hit, to tear down, to destroy everything around me. She was innocent! Innocent of doing any wrong, she was taking the bus for the first time in her life for god sake! How could she have gotten shot over that? My baby. My whole world.

My eyes look up at her engraved name again. "I don't want you to forgive me." I dig my hands into the ground, to bring up the dirt under me, instead of screaming at myself and her for leaving me. "I want you to hate me. To strike lightning down at me. TO make me feel the pain you must have felt..."

And then, my resolve breaks.

My hand reaches behind me and grabs the edge of the handle of the knife in my back pocket. My fingers grasp onto the thin leather, and the knife comes free from my pocket. Then, before I can register what I'm doing, my body is tensing, my arm is reaching back, and the knife is suddenly flying through the air.

It embeds itself in an apple tree planted about ten yards in front of me. The knife is in, hilt deep and my eyes are fixed to my hand that is suddenly in front of me after the release of the knife. An image of Miranda's blood on my hands from the day she died fills my mind and self-hatred fills my entire body. My hand is again searching behind me, and suddenly, another knife is flying through the air, right after the first one. It lands right above the first one, an inch apart.

So my training with Sir paid off after all.

My eyes darken, and I feel my brows clenching against each other. I deliberately put my hand behind me and I grab the next knife. I feel the leather press into my palm, and I flip the knife expertly in front of me. The blade shines against the sun as it twirls in the air. My hand catches the handle against my palm and I hold it steadily next to me.

Miranda's name stares at me from the marble. Anger floods my sense and I see red patches in the corners of my eyes. I reach back expertly, and I throw the knife with all my force. It lands in the tree, an inch above the last one. I pull out my last knife, and I throw it too with all of my anger. It sinks into the apple tree, above the last knife, and the row of knives laugh at me as I inspect my handiwork.

"You were supposed to live..." I say carrying off, my anger slowly melting.

I look down at Miranda's name and my heart clenches. God I missed her. Her face, her smile, her laugh, the way her eyes squinted when she laughed, the little freckle she had right under her left eye. I missed it all so much, I could feel a pit in my stomach and a hole in my heart start to grow and get bigger. I just missed her _so damn much_. I was beyond desperate for a feel of her skin, the sound of her voice. I was under water, drowning in the pain that she had left behind. I _needed_ her.

"Forgiveness," I choke out, tears threatening to run out again. "Is something for the weak. Is something for those who deserve it. Something... something I don't want from you. I don't deserve it." My voice broke and tears ran down my face unchecked. I looked back up at the knives in the tree away from me and I relax against the ground. My anger slipped away from me, and I ran my hand through the grass beneath me.

I stare at her marble name. "And then, I made it to Ecuador..." I say to her.

For the next hour, and then the next couple hours after that, I sat in front of Miranda's graves and I talked. I shared the story of my adventures in the last eight and half months. I told her about the stalkers I had found all over South America and how I traveled from one country to the next, never stopping for long. I told her about the food I ate, the people I met, the habits and cultures I came across. I explained what had happened when I finally had come to Bolivia and how I had been the town healer, the meeting with the Young Justice League, the business agreement with Andres, the developing friendship with the ex-weapons cartel lord, the inheritance I gained, the attempted murder by Lex Luthor, the adoption, and finally Andres's death. I spoke to her about all the pain, the happiness, the doubts, the paranoia, the anger and the sadness I faced with every day.

I spoke my mind, and she listened. I cried to her name, made sarcastic comments and even laughed a couple of times to her. She laid there on the ground, and she listened to me, never once making a comment back. She was always silent now, and she always would be.

Eventually, I looked up to the sky and I saw pink and purple clouds settling over the vanishing sun. "Looks like that's my call..." I tell her, my voice going soft. "I didn't realize it was getting this late," I comment with faint surprise. I stand up and my cramped legs yell in protest at me. Looking down at her grave, I give the headstone a small smile. "I'll come back later," I promise.

I go to the tree ahead of me and I remove the four daggers still sticking out of the tree. I put them in my back pocket and I walk back down the dirt path to the iron gate. I don't look back and I knew I didn't have to. My sister would wait for me until next time.

* * *

><p>Dinah was pacing. Back and forth, forth and back, over and over again. She couldn't keep still and Oliver was starting to go insane. "Dinah, she'll go back eventually! Stop worrying!"<p>

"But. She's. Not. Back. Yet." She threw her hands into the air. "it's been seven hours!"

Oliver leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. "She'll be back."

Dinah rounded on him with all her pent up worry and anger. "You don't know that. She could have gotten hurt. Or she could have gotten lost. Or kidnapped by the cage fighters that want her back! Or she could have forgotten where we were and is out searching for us by hersel-"

Oliver stood up and placed his hand over her mouth gently. "Dinah, hun, she'll be fine. The B-man is already searching for her as we speak. Come on, the greatest detective on earth remember? Plus, she still has on her tracker on so it will be a lot easier to find exactly where she-"

Oliver's home phone rang, and the security coded encryption couldn't break through the 'blocked' call. Only one person could do that to his top of the line machinery. "Oh look, speak of the Bat."

Dinah gave Oliver a cold look and pressed the speaker button to the answering machine. "Batman?" she asked, her voice calm.

"I have her," came the short reply. Dinah let out a sigh of relief. Honestly this girl could raise her blood pressure way above the average level of being health- "Open the med bay, I'm coming in now."

Dinah's relief vanished. "Med bay?"

There was silence on the other end. Then, his voice was cold and cut. "She was shot."

Dinah narrowed her eyes at the phone. Of course she was.

* * *

><p>I really hadn't started it. Seriously.<p>

I was walking down the street, minding my own business. I was at least five blocks away from the cemetery and had just crossed over from the sidewalk. It must have been seven or eight at night by now because the street lamps that weren't broken were all on ad the sun was completely gone from the sky.

I was thinking over the last several hours of my life, and I didn't even hear his footsteps until the click of a gun echoed off the walls of the buildings around me. "Put your hands up and give me all your cash," it was a man's voice. I was guessing 25-30 years old. His voice was squeak though, and it lacked authority.

I put my hands up in a tired gesture. "Dude, you really don't want to do this with me today. I'm not in the right mind frame right now," I say rolling my eyes. Seriously man, my luck was getting worse and worse these days. And who was this idiot?

"Shut up!" the man ordered, his voice almost cracking. Oh god, I was in the presence of an amateur. "Empty your pockets to the ground and get on your knees!" he yelled.

I got to my knees. "I don't have any money." My hands were still up in the air beside my head and I heard the wanna-be mugger step closer to me from behind.

"Shut up!" he yells again. Cold metal of the barrel of a gun presses up against my forehead. "Empty your pockets, now!"

How did this guy not already see my knives? I pull a knife slowly from my back pocket and the barrel of the gun immediately backed off. "Holy shi-" he yells out in surprise.

I didn't have time to turn around or even to look at his face. The next thing my brain registered was the 'BAM' of a gunshot ricocheting in the air and the sudden blinding pain in my left arm.

Metal ripped through my body and forced my upper torso to fall forwards against the ground. Black spots assaulted my vision and my face hit the concrete, splitting my lip. "Ahhh!" I screamed to the air, pain raking my body. The amateur mugger shot me! I mean he friggin shot me! And to make things worse, it was in the same damn shoulder that had literally just finished healing! Now I had another hole in my body from this punk ass! "What the hell!" I yell at him from the ground. "You shot me! You freaking shot me!"

"Stay down! Stay down!" he yells at me, almost hysterically. What the hell was with this guy! "Just give me your money and I'll leave you alone!"

"You SHOT me! It's too damn late for empty promises!" I scream at him. I roll over and the barrel of the gun points down at me from above. The man stands over me, and he aims the gun at my chest with shaky hands. Blood from my left shoulder runs down my arm. So much for taking a rest. Not even a full day back in Gotham and I get shot. Luck of the cursed, I'm tellin you.

"Just give me- just- just- money," he stammers out.

I lean against the ground and put my hand to my pocket. "Fine! God you people-" I reach down to my pockets and the man gasps in shock.

Terror runs his face like it's me that's holding the gun to him. "No not yet I-!" His hand twitches and I see the trigger finger flex. And then the sound of a gun shooting off echoes through the air again. Right into me. Again.

The bullet hits my right collar bone and I feel the bone split as it goes straight threw my back. Indescribable pain smashes into me at a hundred miles an hour and I scream. "What the FUCK!"

He takes a step backwards and blood runs down my chest. "I-I-I-"

"Is a God damned idiot!" I scream.

He steps forwards as if to help me and then drops the gun at his feet. "I-I-I-"

I stare at him in shock at the dropped gun on the ground. Was he really this damned stupid? I lunge forwards despite my bum left side and I swing my leg out at him. My foot makes contact with his knees. His legs sweep out from beneath him, his head hits the ground and he immediately becomes unconscious. Good god.

"I can't believe that just happened," I say collapsing myself onto the ground. What the heck had I just done? I look down at my two bullet wounds and I shake my head. "Unbelievable." Something moves from the corner of my vision and my head snaps into attention. If it was another mugger so help me god...

Out of the shadows, a tall man stepped out. He wore black from head to toe, and his aura stuck fear into the center of my heart. It was scary. But then again, he was Batman. His cape fluttered around him as he stepped into the small street way I was in. He looked down at the unconscious man, and then at me. His whited out eyes narrowed.

"He attacked me first," my mouth says without my permission. "And... he'll live so don't get your cape in a twist."

The Dark Knight says nothing.

I look down at myself on the grimy street floor. Oh this was one hell of a way to meet this city's savior. Just oh so classy. I look back up at the built man. "He had a gun."

Batman's eyes don't move from the narrowed gaze he already has on me. I feel like I want to squirm under his gaze, but I keep my limbs under control. It was actually annoying really, I was lying here in a growing puddle of my own blood and the guy didn't even seem concerned. It was seriously pissing me off. Some hero!

"Look I don't speak Batinese," I say narrowing my own eyes at him. "So tell me what you want or get the hell out. I'm busy at the moment."

He doesn't even blink at my words. The Batman takes a step forwards and his shadow grows across the street pavement like a demon. My body tenses. "You're to come back to base," he says. His voice was deep and throaty, it was probably faked, but it was still scary as all hell.

I look down at my body again. "I got shot."

"Yes."

"I'm bleeding."

"Yes."

"I'm in trouble huh?"

"Yes."

"This is going to happen again if I continue training with Black Canary isn't it?"

"Most likely."

Well dammit all to hell. At least he was honest. "Okay," I say raising my hand up to him in question. "You get to haul me back to base then."

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><p><strong>Well, i really didn't like this chapter very much... What did you think?<strong>

**Next up: :) wait and see.**

**~Missmusicluver**


	25. Chapter 25

**HEY GUYS!**

**So, this chapter is really short, i know i know, i sorry. **

**I had no idea what i was doing, and i needed a filler with feelings, and a couple of things to be sorted out. **

**So here it is!**

**SHOUT OUT to (a): Happy Birthday!**

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><p>Batman carried me out of the side alley I had been shot twice in.<p>

Blood still poured down from my left shoulder and my right collar bone. The first bullet had gone straight through my arm; the second was still lodged in muscle. Thank god for adrenaline, because at this moment, I couldn't feel a thing except for a weird warm feeling at the tips of my fingers. And then the metal arms under me, holding me up to a very hard chest. Batman's chest.

Holy shiiiiiiizzzz. Batman's freaking carrying me.

My vision goes blurry and I see blood run down my folded arms on my chest. My head tips to one side and I see how much I really have bled out. It was kind of scary. I was pretty sure I should be dead right now at the blood loss alone.

"I'm bleeding," the sound of my voice reaches my ear, and I realize I've said my thoughts out loud. My voice sounded whispery and soft, like I was intoxicated or even taking drugs. It was kind of embarrassing.

Batman's gaze remains straight ahead. "You'll live," his reply comes back, cold and unsympathetic.

"Burn my blood." My voice goes soft, and I can barely hear myself, but apparently Batman did hear me.

His white eyes look down at me and he nods once. He didn't ask when or why. He just accepted the fact and the need and said yes.

I look down at the red substance leaking down my chest, and it reminds me of a river. A red river. "So much blood," my mouth says with fluttering eyes.

"You'll live," he says again, this time his voice deeper.

I watch the curve of Batman's jaw as he talks back to me, and my mind goes to Bruce Wayne. The way he spoke to me after Andres had died. He had been emotionless; cold. Just like my knight in Dark armor. "I spoke to Bruce Wayne's parents today," I blurt out, my vision circling, making me suddenly dizzy.

Fingers suddenly dig into my arms and legs from Batman's fingers. He had stopped walking. "What?" his voice was harsh and sharp like a finely shaped razor.

"Bruce Wayne," my loopy voice says again without my approval. "I spoke to Miranda, but first I saw his parent's monument there." I close my eyes to block out the bright lights of the street lamps from my eyes. "I spoke to them about him." I felt the faint vibrations of Batman walking again. "I thanked them for having such a good son," I admit without my brains approval.

The footsteps stopped again. I kept speaking, even though a small part of my brain was starting to yell at me about 'similarity', which of course, made absolutely no sense to me. "They gave the world a hero," I say softly, my eyes drifting close. The footsteps still weren't moving, and I felt a small chill travel down my spine. My eyes peeked open, and I saw the Batman staring down at me with his whited out eyes. I met my eyes with his, and I held them; somehow they weren't looking so scary right now.

"He always seems to be there at the wrong times in my life at all the right moments I need someone to pull me out of the haze." The Batman doesn't move. "Someone who seems to know exactly what I'm thinking and feeling every time I see him..." My world spins again, and I can literally feel my body separating itself away from the physical plane of reality. "It's weird to feel I depend on him to be there whenever the world decides to kick me in the stomach." I feel a sarcastic smile creep on my face. "Pathetic really. After everything, you'd think I'd be stronger and not need the help of a playboy billionaire. It's not like our relationship isn't weird enough with me breaking down every time I see him." My eyes drift away from his, and I close them as another rock of the world sets my teeth on edge.

"I owe him a thank you," I say to Batman. "And ... an apology."

Batman is walking again, and I find myself slowly loosing grip on reality. Was that a black car with the bat symbol on the sides? A Bat-car? Batman lifts the car door open and I find myself in the front seat.

"E.T.A, five minuets," Batman tells a mic in his ear. I feel Batman close my door and get in on the other side of me. He starts his little Bat-car.

"I can't believe I thought Bruce was beating Dick," my mouth opens again without my brains permission. I feel Batman freeze beside me.

"What?" I hear his voice break out, in open surprise as well.

"I fixed Dick's broken elbow when he fell off," I say, knowing I was cutting off half the story from the man in black. He probably had no clue what I was talking about. "And then, I fixed a little bit more." My eyes flutter open and close, and all I see is black with a mixture of white from the street lamps outside. The world is a blur to me.

"I saw his bones, his muscle... all of his injuries; past and present..." I explain, mumbling a little. "I went down and fixed every old break, bruise, crack and sore I could find." My head collapses against the back of the car. "It drained me beyond my own healing, and I thought... the wounds were from Bruce. I thought he was hitting him," I say. I shake my head a little. "But I've seen how they act around each other. Like partners in a good business. Hand in hand... Bruce could never really hurt him."

I force my eyes open and I make my head look down at my upper body. Blood was pumping out of my body, but I could start to see the ends of my skin start to come back over each other. I was healing already. "Do me a favor Batman, and hurry the hell up." The adrenaline starts to wear of and I can feel searing fire start to race up my arm and wrap around my upper body. "The bullet in my collar bone needs to be removed before my skin re-heals itself, or else I'll have to re-break the skin and bone."

I feel the car zoom forwards and I grind my teeth against each other. Blood poured on the seat under me, and my hands clench into fists. Don't you dare pass out... I tell myself firmly in my head. Don't you freaking dare...

My eyes close on their own and I feel my hands relax. Dammit... "Tell Canary to burn the blood," I practically whisper to Batman. I hope he heard me.

Black spots circle my vision and then attack, sending me into a dream filled with bright florescent lights, a woman with blond hair and blue eyes with a worried frown, a silver scalpel, a black capped man with Bruce Wayne's voice, and a tin box with two bloody bullets in the middle. My imagination sometimes...

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><p>I woke up to bright florescent lights shining down on me. Bandages wrapped my left shoulder and spread across my whole neck to reach my right collar bone. It was a surprise I could even move my neck, which after some experimenting, I could barely do. I look to my left and I see the IV I'm hooked up to. Pain killers, steroids, and antibacterials. Well, it was no wonder why I couldn't feel any pain. The pain killers must have done their job, the steroids must have sped up my healing process, and the antibacterials must have sped up the process just a little too by letting my white blood cells work on repairing my body instead of fighting off Gotham trash that might have gotten into my blood stream.<p>

I started to unwrap the bandages from my upper body. My arms move stiffly, but the screaming pain is gone, and I can feel my muscles working together in harmony. The bullets were out. Damn, how long was I out?

"Good to see the bullets didn't slow you down," a soft voice says from the right side of the room.

My head snaps around at the female voice immediately, but I already feel myself relaxing. She had that effect on me. "Dinah," I say before my eyes reach her face.

Her blonde hair was up in a ponytail, and little wisps of careless strands caressed her face, like they were placed there by a professional hair stylist. "Good to see you're finally up," she says, her face lighting up in a tired smile.

I turn my body towards her. "Have you been waiting for me to get up?" I ask, my eyes looking questioningly at her.

Dinah leans forwards in her chair and places her elbows on her knees. "You had two bullets in you. We almost had to rebreak your collar bone because you were healing too fast for us to remove the bullet," she answers calmly.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Dinah didn't look amused. "You were shot."

Well duh. "Yea."

"Twice."

"Yes."

"By a mugger."

Why was this scene familiar? "Yep."

"In a street alley."

I throw my hand in the air. "What is this, Twenty Facts?" I ask beyond annoyed. "Yes, I know I was shot. Twice. By a mugger. An amateur mugger at that. And yes, that's embarrassing, but guess what? I'm talking and figuratively walking around without a scratch now, okay? I have lived through that traumatic experience and am now able to open myself to new and better-"

"Save the sarcasm for someone who'll give a damn about it," Dinah interrupts me with narrowed eyes. I stop dead in my sentence and am suddenly blank for a retort back at her. Had she just snapped at me? Did Mrs. Goody-two-shoes just get angry at me? "You nearly died Jezebelle, again."

I interrupt her there and then before she can go too far into her oncoming lecture. "I didn't ask for amateur-psycho-mugger to come at me, okay!"

"No, but you set yourself up for an attack."

"I was walking down a freaking_ street_."

"You weren't paying attention to your surroundings."

"I had just gotten back from talking to Miranda! I had better things on my mind then thinking about who was waiting around the corner!"

"Your distraction got you _shot_, and nearly killed you. AGAIN."

"She's not a distraction!" I scream at her, my voice echoing loudly in the medical room. "She's dead!"

Dinah stood up from her chair. "Yes Jez. Your sister is dead, and she will stay dead for the rest of eternity whether you like it or not. But _you_, you are not. Do you understand me? You are still alive and walking around on this earth. You can't place yourself in danger like this all the-"

"What are you talking about!" I yell at her. "It was one time! I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing for one night. It wasn't like I-"

"Just one time got you shot, twice," Dinah says back. "Next time it could be me putting you in a body bag instead of on an operating table."

I fall silent. Dinah was standing over me, her hands in fists at her sides, her eyes narrowed and her teeth clenched in anger. I watch her angry eyes take me in and spit me out. She wasn't just mad. She was furious at me. … But why? What had I done that I hadn't already done to myself a hundred times before? I had been shot at before this. So why was she freaking out? Because I had nearly died twice in one week?

"You worried about me," I blurt out my sudden realization out to open air.

Dinah's expression softens immediately, and her arms relax by her sides. "Of course I worried," she said shaking her head with a small smile. "How could I not? You seem to get hurt every time I see you."

"Maybe it's just when I'm around you," I say back immediately, my mouth moving without my brains permission. Speaking of…

"Oh plea-"

"Batman," I blurt out with widening eyes.

Dinah tips her head to the side for a moment in confusion. "What?" she asks with two quick shakes of her head. "Batman? Where did that-"

I face-palm my forehead in sudden and growing embarrassment. "Oh my god. Batman." I shake my head furiously and press my hand harder against my head to make me just sink into the hospital bed and stay there for the rest of eternity. "I can't believe... the things I said…"

Dinah's face breaks out into a grin so large, I think of the Cheshire cat. "Yes; that I remember."

"You too?" I ask, both hand now covering my eyes.

Her grin got wider. "Yes, me too."

I groan loudly. "Ughhhhh, get out and just let me die in embarrassment."

I hear the smile in Dinah's voice. "It wasn't that bad."

I shake my head. "No, it was worse than that bad. It was disastrous. I will never be able to look Batman in the cowl."

Dinah snorts out a choked laugh.

"It's not funny!" I look up at her standing next to my bed.

She smiles down anyways. "Actually, ...it's pretty funny." She smirks again.

I narrow my eyes at her, and a thought crosses my mind. I look off to the side self-consciously. "Did Batman burn..."

"The blood? Yes."

I nod and breathe out a sigh of relief. "Good."

She tips her head at me and sits down on the bed in front of me, off to the side. Her lips tighten, and I know what she wants me to tell her.

"Just trust me, and burn the blood. Don't ask why, just do. It's nothing but a hazard to have around."

Dinah stares at me for a moment before sighing and looking away from me. She stands up wearily. "Get some sleep. You look like you need it."

"Is that your subtle way of telling me I look like shit?"

Dinah smiles from the corners of her mouth. "It's a way of telling you that your body needs to rest. Don't push yourself too hard, okay?"

I roll my eyes at the irony in the damned question. "How long was I out this time?"

"Thirty six hours."

I feel my shoulders sag in annoyance. Good god. "This is getting old."

"What, you getting shot? Or the amount of times it takes for you to get shot to realize you need to always be on your toes?"

Sarcasm had lined her voice and I give her an evil glare. "How about the time it takes me to heal? I only got shot once. It's not like my intestines were falling out or anything. Being knocked out just for a gunshot is ridiculous."

"_Two_ gunshot wounds Jez, and not only that, you lost a lot of blood. Actually, you should have died from the amount of blood loss."

"Well, lucky me."

She gives me the evil glare this time. "Knock the sarcasm out of your voice Jez, or I'll think you're healed enough to train and I'll _beat_ it out of you."

I raise my eyebrows in mock surprise. "Did you just threaten me? I formally accuse you of VERBAL ABUSE!" I shake my head lightly at her. "And you call yourself my guardian..."

Dinah's eyes widen and her mouth drops open just a fraction of a degree. "I-"

I shake my head at her with a small smile growing at the sides of my lips. "Don't. I know what you did and what that makes you to me now."

Dinah immediately sits back down on the bed and leans forwards in a worried or even panicked matter. "Jezebelle, I didn't mean to-"

I snort. "Yes you did. You knew what you were doing when you moved me out of Bolivia after Andres died. You knew that leaving a Bolivian country behind me that was legally now in my name would keep me bound to be a Bolivian citizen for the rest of my life." I kept her gaze locked to mine, and I gave no emotion away. "You brought me back into the states, but because I'm still a minor, you brought me under your name. And because you knew it would be over stepping the boundaries of our new found... relationship, you didn't adopt me, you just legally announced that you would be my guardian and ward until I'm eighteen."

Dinah sat shocked for a moment, and then shook her blonde head lightly. "W-Who told you?"

I shrug my shoulders, making my collar bone groan in slight pain. "No one. I just deduced the answer from my past experiences with you and the current situation with me technically belonging to two different countries now." I snort in irony. "Actually, I was thinking about this right before the mugger shot me and made me almost die again."

Dinah had nothing to say to this. She stood up and walked to the door. "Get some rest." Her hand stopped on the doorknob to my room and she turned around to face me. "When you wake up again, you're training starts."

Oh goody.

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><p><strong>Okay, like i said, not a long one, but the next one will be. :)<strong>

**NEXT UP: Jezebelle runs into some old co-workers from the cage and starts trouble, Maybe some Jez/Rob moments? , and MAYBEEEE Jez finds out who Batman and Robin really are. :DD Maybe. **

**(By the way, im looking for some really good names for Jezebelle/Robin... any suggestions? Jezbin? lol NO.**

**:D okay, until next time**

**REVIEWWWWWWWW REVIEWWWW REVIEWWW**

**~Missmusicluver**


	26. Chapter 26

**Thank you all for the wonderful reviews :D they mean a lot.**

**The official name for Jezebelle and Robin is: Robelle! YAY!**

**DISCLAIMER: No, I don't anything related to DC comics. But, I do own Jezebelle. And her dead sister.**

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><p>I woke up the next day in the hospital bed with my bandages loosely hanging off of my shoulders. <em>The next time you wake up, training starts.<em> Dinah's last words hung in my ear as I helped myself forwards on the bed. Oh this was gonna be fun.

I unwrap the bandages on my upper body, and I let them fall to the floor. Red stained pads covered the area where the two bullets had hit me, and I let my fingers slide over the white and red material calmly. It didn't hurt me at all. It wasn't even sore. I peel the bandage off my shoulder slowly, and I fell no tug back. I look down, and my eyes widened. Underneath, my skin was white and smooth. There wasn't even a scar.

"Damn, that healed fast," I hear myself whisper. Way to fast. "What the hell hap-"

The hospital door opens, and Batman steps into the room. His black cape billows behind him, dragging against the ground in the smallest of touches and with him brings the atmosphere of strict order and a deep sense of constricting fear that lingers in the pit of my stomach.

I lower my arms to my sides, and I'm vaguely aware that I am only now wearing a sports bra over my exposed chest. I put my hands over the sheets that cover my lap. "Batman," I nod, my neck hairs rising in fear as his white lensed eyes meet mine.

He stops at the foot of my bed, and I notice the small tip of his head as he looks at my left shoulder. "Have you ever healed this quickly before?" he immediately questions.

"No," I answer truthfully. "Never."

"Do you remember where you are?"

"Yes."

"Do you remember what you were doing?"

I make myself stare into those bright lenses. "Yes."

Batman turns back to the hospital door. "Black Canary wants you in the training room in five minuets."

His hand touches the door, and my mouth opens without my brain's permission. "Batman…" I say, stopping the Dark Knight in his tracks. He doesn't look back at me, and for that I'm grateful. "About how you found me… I just…" I glance at the hospital walls in a quick glance. How to exactly say this? "Thank you," I finally say after a long pause. "And …sorry for whatever I said. I was out of it and I said a lot of things that probably made no sense to you. So thanks for… finding me."

Batman looked back at me, and I saw his lensed eyes stare straight into mine. His mouth was in a firm line, and his arms were under his cape, by his side. Totally unreadable, and distant. "Be in the training room in four minuets."

Batman opened the door, left and the atmosphere in the room became almost normal. Or well, whatever normal could be considered when you thought about being in a hospital bed, in one of The Justice League's private hospitals.

I pull the covers away from me and I stand up out of the bed. Underneath, I wore small spandex shorts. I don't remember ever putting those on.

… I was gonna strangle Dinah. I walk into the bathroom, and I see the huge closet and the rows of shoes again. I pull on a small pair of ankle socks and then a pair or dark black tennis shoes that matched the black sports bra and spandex shorts. I walk to the bathroom mirror and pull a black hairband into my hair placing it into a high pony tail. I twirl once in front of the mirror like a normal teenager, and I feel my long hair hit my shoulder blades. Great, now I looked the part for some serious ass kicking.

I walk out of the bathroom, and then my own room with my ponytail swishing against my skin behind me. I roll my shoulders after I close my hospital door and I was pleased to find that my shoulder was completely and totally fine. Why it healed so fast was a mystery, but as long as the pain was away, I was a happy camper.

I walk down another hallway, and I find myself in a large room with several chairs surrounding one round table. Small screens sit in front of each chair on the table and designing the surface of the circular table are the red, white and blue lettering of 'Justice League' written across the top. My eyes widen when I read the inscription and I can almost feel my jaw unhinge itself from my skull in wonder. Wow, I really was in one of the famous bases of the Justice League. The biggest and most powerful organizations ever created in every aspect.

"Canary expected you in training two minuets ago," a deep voice says from the left side of where I was standing.

I didn't have to turn to see who it was. I was starting to become accustomed to the raspy voice behind the black mask. Although, he still did scare the crap out of me. I just would never admit that out loud. "Batman," I answer with a turn of my head in his direction.

He stood against a shadowed wall on the opposite side of the room from me, with his hands at his sides and covered behind his massive black cape that brushed the ground even at a standstill. "You're now late."

I lean carefully against one of the chairs beside the Justice League table, and I let one small smirk come over my lips. _Let's see how he takes this._ Why I wanted to test him after he had helped me in the alley was beyond my current brand of thinking, but I was doing it none the same.

"Yes, yes I am." I cross my hands over my chest and I cross my ankles over each other while leaning backwards. Total attitude.

Batman took a step forwards from the wall and he came into the florescent lights. "Go to the training room. Canary is waiting for you."

"I'm having a hard time locating said area," I answer automatically.

His lensed eyes narrow. "Down the left hall, right hall, third door to the right."

"Left, right, right… right?"

The strong chin showing from behind the black mask grinds against its upper jaw slowly. Huh, I wonder if anyone else had ever dared to give _the Batman_ attitude before. Considering the look he was giving me right now, I seriously doubted it.

"Start moving," he orders with ice embedded in his words accompanied with the dark tone of falling into an endless abyss.

The overall feeling of his order… annoyed me. I just got here! After being shot, losing my second dad, taken away from my home, coming to terms with everything that's been happening, and just being generally confused all the time, who was this guy to order me around? He's not my dad, mentor, teacher or person of interest to me in any way! I didn't even know this guy! I felt the hot chill of anger ripple across my spine.

I narrow my eyes at him in return at his own narrowed gaze. "I'm good actually."

"Now." His order was final, and the words seemed to put a literal weight on my chest to do what he said.

Fear slid up my legs and it was good I was leaning against the chair, or else my jello knees would have hit the ground at this moment. I forced my eyes to stare at him with a blank face, and my heart to slow down from its erratic beating. It was one of the hardest thinks I've ever had to do.

"No." It was bold. I had outright just deliberately defied him.

My stomach instinctively clenched with fear.

Batman walked slowly to me, and with every step, I thought the ground trembled in his matching anger. His steps were measured and even, opposite of my heart beat at this moment. He stopped a foot in front of me, and I forced my body to stay still.

"I will only tell you once more. Move."

Anger slid down my throat, and set my stomach in a frenzy of fire that burned out the fear weighing me down. I straightened upwards and got to my tippy toes half a foot in front of the Dark Knight so we were eye to eye. I stared him straight in the lens, and I had a feeling he staring back at me, observing me like an insect specimen. It only enraged me more. "Make me." My worlds were as cold as his, and I feel a shiver of fear reach my spine at my own monotone.

Batman's eyes narrow into dangerous slits. _He's going to hit me,_ I think suddenly. His eyes just screamed out at me that he was going to smash me like gum on Metropolis's downtown sidewalks. _He's gonna punch me and I'm gonna hit the surface of the sun. What the fug was I thinking? Verbally attacking the BATMAN. Was I insane? He was gonna put me in a body cast, or maim me in some horrific way. He was gonna-_

Some far off to the left clears their voice. My gaze on Batman's doesn't waver though, and neither does his on mine. I wasn't about to break in front of this old man. And he was freaking Batman. Loosing wasn't in his vocabulary.

The voice clears itself again, this time a little more forcefully.

Batman and I don't break contact.

"Jezebelle," the voice calls out to me to break our little competition. It was male, deep and inviting. I had heard this voice before. Regrettably, I turn from Batman's eyes and I turn my head to the left.

My eyes widen when I recognize a red and blue dressed man with black hair and amazingly blue eyes that had been hidden behind thick black rimmed glasses the last time I had seen them. "Superman," my voice immediately says in recognition. I look him up and down, and I take in the cape, the boots and the seriously broad chest. "Wow, you clean up nice Mr. Kent." I look up into his eyes, and I can see him open his mouth as if to comment before he closes it and opens it again at a total loss. "Huh, so you really are Superman. Which really means that Conner is seriously Superboy… And Megan… Megan's a legit alien." I shake my head at him. "That's a real trip…"

I look back to Batman, and I sink back onto my heels. I place my hands on my hips. "Next thing I know you'll be someone I know too just to make everything else more awkward!" I yell out at him with a frustrated twist of my hand.

Batman's face is impassive.

I look back at Superman and his face is uncommonly smooth of emotion. I tip my head at him. What? It's not like I seriously know who Ba- … I look back at Batman and I stare at the masked man in silence. Batman turns away from me, and I grab his black clad shoulder with one hand. He stops and I walk in front of him. I stare at the curve of his jaw, the two lips; one thinner on top, the bottom full and strangely, perfectly healthy looking considering all the bad guy stuff he does.

All of it put together, it was… similar. Like I had seen it before somewhere, but where? I think of his chin. Batman's face turns away from me, and a flash of a tailored jacket flashes into my memory. The look of a dark haired man, turning away from me to get a sheet to cover the dead body of Andres Alarico, my father. Bruce Wayne.

I look over at Superman, and his blue eyes meet mine, a fearful and hesitant expression across his handsome face. The day I went to Wayne Enterprise, Clark Kent the reporter was with _Bruce Wayne_. Months later, Dinah showing up with Bruce Wayne for the business meeting… He would have had the perfect cover, and she would have an easy way to get undercover. They were both League members.

"No way." My eyes widen into round circles of shock as I think of the possibility.

Bruce Wayne. The man who saw my sister get shot, the one who came to my apartment when Miranda was still alive after the break-in in his company, the man who saw me scream bloody murder when I had my night mare in Bolivia, the man who saw my outcome after Andres was shot, and witnessed the weakest moments of my life. _That_ man was _the_ Batman?

Oh. My. Mother. Fugging. God.

My memory turns back to just a few days go. The alleyway, when I had my little chat with Batman about Bruce Wayne…

FUG. MY. MOTHER. FUGGING. LIFE.

Batman turns back to me with a slow turn of his head. My hand immediately retracts from his shoulder like his very touch against me was poisonous. "You can't be serious…" I trail off. "_YOU?"_ I ask taking a step away from him. "YOU'RE Batman? _The BATMAN?_" I look over at Superman with my eyes as big as a frightened deer. "Bruce freaking Wayne?" I look back at Batman/Bruce Wayne. "Are you kidding me?"

Although, thinking over it in a split second, it all made sense. He had the perfect cover. A playboy millionaire who cared about nothing but his next lay, but in secret was the world's greatest detective. No one would ever, ever, _ever_ suspect of him. And after Andres had died in Bolivia, when Dinah and I were attacking each other, he was completely calm while Karina was shell shocked. And his walk, silent and even, like a predator; not an everyday business man. His façade was to work that he only cared about women, money and Dick for some odd-

"Oh my god _Dick_," I hear myself say out loud. "Dick Grayson is Robin. _The _Robin. Miranda's favorite Super-"I take another step back and I see Superman take a step forwards hesitantly, like he was afraid I was going to bolt. I look at Batman/Bruce who was currently watching me with his narrowed lensed eyes and I take another step back. "So you weren't beating Dick, the scum of Gotham was doing it for you." Batman's eyes stay narrowed and I take another step backwards. Maybe I was going to run for it. "Uh, excuse me," I say with the irony of being formal in this situation. I turn and run for the entrance door behind Superman in a flat out sprint.

Superman puts out an arm as if to stop me, but I twirl immediately under his muscled limb and avoid his staring eyes as I sprint for the door. I reach the door and pull it open as fast as I can. He could have stopped me. Batman could have stopped me. But, they both let me go and I took the opportunity with enormous energy.

I don't close the door behind me, and I feel the stares of the two superheroes on my back even after I sprint down the nearest hallway, searching for an exit out of this insane building.

I knew Batman's identity. I knew Robin's identity. And I knew both of their cover's lives persona very well. In fact, Batman seemed to know me just as much as Dinah knew me.

The Dark Knight; knowing and witnessing every bad detail of my life. It made me feel small, and breakable. I had always thought that when I would meet the baddest of the bad Superheroes, I would somehow impress him with my fierceness or my unfeeling attitude to everything around me when I fight. When I was being a badass. I had hoped to make myself seem as cold as ice around him. Like he was to the world. But no, he, Batman, saw me at the lowest points of my life. Every one of them. Mom's death, Dad's death, Shoe's death happed when I was younger and when I still depended on people to help me, so their death hurt, but it wasn't as cold, hard, unforgiving, and _real_ as Miranda's death had been. He had seen my breaking point, the emotionless man of Gotham, he had seen me cry, and scream in fear. He had seen me weak. Over and over and over again.

I was running again, and this time, I knew it was from my own disappointment.

* * *

><p>Batman watched the metal door swing, hanging open on the silent hinges. Jezebelle had left, leaving himself and Superman behind. "Well, that went well," Clark commented into the air.<p>

Batman remained silent and turned towards the nearest computer in the meeting room.

Clark didn't let it slide though. "That was quite the argument I walked in on Bruce. What exactly did you say to her that made her so defensive?"

Batman started typing very quickly on the holographic computer screen.

"Did you want her to argue with you like that? Was that your intention?"

Bruce rolls his eyes behind the mask. "No."

"What we're you hoping to accomplish?"

Batman stepped back from the computer as soon as Jezebelle's clothing tracker came online on the screen. "Not that."

Superman looked up at the screen behind Batman and scrunched his eyebrows together. "What is this? … and why is the dot moving?"

"It's Jezebelle's tracker. It shows where she's located."

Superman looked at the dot harder. "Is she… did she just…"

"Leave the base? Yes. Through the front door if the trackers right." Batman's and Superman's eye followed the red dot as it moved along the screen.

"She left."

Batman looked over at Superman. "Someone should inform Dinah that her protégé just left the facility." Superman nodded in agreement.

"No need," Dinah's voice said from the doorway behind them. Superman and Batman turned to the blonde woman at the same time. She stood against the door way with her hands over her chest. She didn't look all that worried. "Should I even ask what happened?"

"She found out Batman was Bruce and Bruce was Batman," Superman immediately admitted, looking over at the Dark Knight with the corner of his eyes.

Dinah stared at Batman. She sighed heavily and stepped towards the two superheroes with another sad sigh. "So she found out and left?"

"Right through the front door," Superman answered again.

Dinah smirked with the corners of her mouth. "Well, she knows where to find me if she wants to come back."

Superman raised his eyebrows in surprise. Well that hadn't been what he thought she was going to say. "You- you're not going to go after her?"

Dinah shook her head. "She knows where we are. She knows where to find me if she wants to come back. I've tried to keep her here, and she's left at all the weakest points she could find. She needs to come when she's ready. She needs to learn that she can't keep running."

Superman nodded in understanding and put a hand on her shoulder. "She'll be back."

Dinah nodded and put her hand on top of Superman's for a moment. "When she stops running."

* * *

><p>I was running.<p>

And running, and running and running.

I had ditched my clothes back at the Goodwill store three blocks back, and had found myself a different black sports bra, a pair of jean shorts a little too short with a red bandanna hanging in my back pocket, and a dark green tank top that had bleach stains on the front of it. I was now running in said clothes with a growing stitch in my side from the lack of oxygen and my feet were slapping harshly against the cement in my new beat up and old pair of gray Toms I had also gotten at the Goodwill store.

I was getting tired of running.

I slowed to a walk in front of a large building at the edge of the next street. The sun was starting to go down, and the setting sun was making dragon sized shadows appear on the ground and the walls around me in the grimy alleyway. I stepped carefully down it with watchful eyes. I didn't want to get shot again. I just wasn't in the mood at the moment; call me crazy.

In fact, I was getting in the mood to hit someone. A lot of someones. Someones who wore a black mask and swooped in with his little bird every night. I _really_ wanted to hit the man dressed in black. So badly.

"-not only that, but we'll lose the whole program if she doesn't show." A thick voice was speaking to the very right from me. It was low, almost muffled in the smoky air. Was he speaking to someone?

I fight myself not to jump and squeal in fright. How the hell did I not hear these guys? How did they not hear me thumping through? And where the flying Fug was I now?

"How do we know it's her?" A different voice asks the first guy. This voice was much deeper, and seemed to almost growl every word with hate or disdain. I couldn't tell between the two.

"You saw her fight. It's her," the first one answered.

I'm not moving, but I make myself breath slowly as I start to crouch to get nearer towards the speakers. They're voices made me want to be cautious, and in reality, I probably should have; but then again, they would know where I was.

"How much does she want for each fight?" the second asked.

There was a long, pregnant pause. "A grand a fight."

"What?" the second exclaimed in his deep baritone voice. "A grand a fight!" he repeats. "She can't be serious!"

"She was completely serious. And now she's gonna be a no-show."

"What are we gonna do? We-we-…were gonna have to leave man."

I pull the red bandanna from my back pocket and thank God silently in my head for the complete luck that just landed in my lap. I pull the bandanna over my face and hang it right under my eyes in a practiced twist if my hands. The red fabric hangs over my face, and covers the bottom part of my face, obscuring my identity.

Ah, just like old times.

I move out of the shadows, make sure my hair is still in a high pony tail, and I rasp on the concrete walls with an easy attitude as if I had been listening to their conversation. You know, even though I kind of had been…

"Or you could just hire me instead," I speak to them in a pitched lowered voice, with a hint of huskiness.

Both men spin around to the sound of my voice. The first guy was short and grey haired while his friend was tall, black and biceps the size of a small planet. No seriously, the guy was HUGE.

I sashay up to them with a seductive swish of my hips, making them stare at me with dropping jaws. I wasn't in the prettiest get up, but I made them stare at the curves I had. I walk slowly to them, and I feel their eyes burning into me. "I'll do the fight for less than the no-show, and I can guarantee a win."

Their eyes are still glued to my curvy parts and I snap my fingers in front of the big man's eyes and I see him jolt back to reality, his eyes immediately finding mine in the shadows. I smile, showing all my teeth and I tip my head to the side while sticking out my hip with my hands on my waist. "Just tell me who to hit, and I can get you your money."

The smaller man seems to have the brains. No surprise. "We already have someone so get lost whore. This isn't for little girls."

Moving faster than they can comprehend, I sweep my leg out from underneath the short man, pull his shirt up to the concrete wall and I let him hang in my grasp before the larger man can blink. I smile down at the man and I tip my head again at him like a perfect little angel. "I can assure you munchkin, you'll get more money out of me than the chic who got a better deal across the street."

The little man's eyes widen. "Sh-she left?"

I smile wider, almost predatoril. "She will if she has the fight to stand up against me," I answer smoothly, grinning on the inside at how easy it was to honestly scare the man in front of me.

The larger man steps closer and I drop the short man to the ground. He rubs his neck and looks up at me with widening eyes. Suddenly a gleam flashes off them and his mouth widens into a smirk. "You can beat her?"

"By a long shot." My voice carries authority and superiority .

The larger man watches his partner and I exchange banter with his hands tucked inside each other in front of him. The shorter man takes a step closer to me before looking me up and down like I was the brand new merchandise at a grade A store. "How do we know we can trust you?" The larger man looks over at me, accepting his partners questions as his.

I smirk back at him. "You ever heard of Red Butterfly?"

The shorter man's eyes narrow. "The chick from eight months ago. She was one of Roulette's favorites. Yea, I've heard of her. So what?"

"So she's back to put the rest of the caterpillars back in their places."

A silence settled around us, making the night sound quieter than it was.

The guy snorted. "Yea right. And I'm the queen of England lady." He laughs and shakes his head at me. I narrow my eyes at him in return silently. "Listen, we have seen about a dozen wanna-be Butterflies in the last eight months okay? You are no different. You just want to get big in the shadow of a big name."

Heat burns under my skin, but I force myself to smile and laugh like I was judging the idiot to be an idiot. "The name wasn't what made me oompa-loompa. It was the way I fought. And I'm willing to bet I can fight better than any other cage fighter you've ever seen."

"Is that so?" a new voice, young like me, but edged with annoyance and … authority rang in my ears from behind me. It was almost, familiar to me. I turned around to look at the newcomer and my jaw almost dropped. Almost.

She was wearing exactly what I used to wear in the cages. Long sleeved black shirt, black pants that stopped at the knee's, black shoes, and some kind of black material covering the bottom part of her face. I would bet all my shares of my company that she had a red butterfly on the back of her shirt. The only thing that was different from me was her hair and her height. She was taller than me by at least an inch and her hair, though long like mine, was darker than mine should have been. I would bet all my money that she had died it to look like mine.

They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery, but this. This was just weird. Like I had a taller clone of myself. She even stood like I did! One hand on her hip, the other against her side as she leaned against the cement beside her and her legs relaxed as if she could split in the opposite direction at any time.

"Yea, it's damn straight copy-cat. And if you're gonna role play as me, get it right and do your homework. I always make sure my voice is a pitch lower than my normal voice is so I don't give my identity away."

"I couldn't give a rat's ass about my identity, so you're wrong. Get out of my street and out of my cage."

I raise an eyebrow in half amusement and annoyed shock. "Don't give a rat's ass bout your identity? You're wearing a mask dumb ass! Your arguments invalid. Get out." I point at the opening of the alleyway she had come through earlier while staying in the safety of the shadows.

The two men and the wanna-be me doesn't move. "I should see the face of the little girl who's trying to undermine my status," her voice says in more of an order than anything else. She steps forwards and stands in the light shining down at her.

Oh definitely dyed hair. She must have had lighter hair originally. I tip my head at her. And why did her voice… I had definitely heard it before somewhere. I knew this person; that I knew for sure. But who? Her body posture seemed to ring a bell in my head it was almost…did it almost look familiar? I scrunch my eyebrows together and lean farther back in the shadows, sticking to my fake persona.

I snort out a desperately failed hidden laugh. "Little girl, sweet heart? Status? See that's cute. If you were really me, it wouldn't have been little girl, it would have been _amateur._ Not some half assed attempt to make my street rep get a little higher in front of two future employers." I sneer viciously at her. "And I definitely wouldn't say _status_." I look over at the two men, who were listening closely to our argument and I make sure I have both of their attentions. "Actually, the only people who would say that around here are _Feds._ Or police."

Both men beside me instantly stiffen, and the wanna-be looks shocked. "W-what!" the teenager yells out at me. Teenager? Since when did the Feds use teenagers? What the heck? "You can't be serious!"

I level my eyes with her, even though she can't really see me in the shadows, and I put my hands on my hips. "Oh, I'm dead serious. You can't be too careful around other new-bies, new-bie." I make eye contact with the two men, and I can see their minds churning over all I said. All it would take is another small push in my direction and I would be in the cages again. Almost too damn easy.

"Tell you what Fed. I'll fight you to be the Butterfly… got it?"

She looks up with an even more shocked face. Apparently, she had had a plan on how this evening would go, and I just kind of squashed it. "Fight you for it?" she repeats like an idiot.

"Yea, fight me for it. You wanna go in and fight in my name? Show me how good you are. The one left standing will be Butterfly."

Now it's her turn to tip her head at me. Almost like she was listening to… I look closer at the side of her head, and when her head turns slightly, my eyes catch sight of it. A mic in her ear. Holy shiz, she really was a Fed!

Oh man, I really had to get rid of her now. She would ruin everything!

I detach myself from the wall and I lean forwards. "Ready? Set. Go!" I launch myself forwards at her, and I see the girls eyes widen. She had green eyes like me. Contacts?

"If you wanted to make my costume look original, you would have known that I used red contact lenses with my outfit," I say with a bitchy yell as I bounce off the first wall towards her.

She pushes herself backwards and I bounce from one side of the alleyway wall to the other, my feet never touching the ground. Wanna-be pushes herself backwards faster and faster until we're both out of the alleyway and in an abandoned street. I jump from the alley walls and land rolling into the lamp lit street with my feet under me and my arms ready to knock some heads together.

The lamp light shows both of us to each other, and I find myself staring at the girl in front of me with widening eyes. She was tall, well-muscled, thin and light on her feet. Her pulled up hair reached the middle of her back already and her toned arms were up in defense as soon as she turned to me. But she was slow. Much too slow to be in the cages.

Her eyes look at mine, and I see them widen in recognition as well, and I hear the faint echo of a gasp.

"How long have you been fighting New-bie?" I ask, still crouched in case she sprung at me. "From your speed, I'm guessing not even a year. Do you seriously think you'll live through the cages with just that? You'll have to show me so much more than that."

And then I launched myself at her for the second time, eyes wide and hands outreached to knock the amateur out cold.

* * *

><p>Robin and the rest of the team were called in for a mission the minuet he got to Mt. Justice. It was near four o'clock in the evening and he had just gotten out of school. He had literally just taken off his school uniform at home when Alfred had told him that Batman wanted to see him in Mt. Justice in ten minuets.<p>

So here he was, standing with the rest of the team, none looking eager and pumped for the next mission. Superboy had his hands crossed over his chest looking unemotional with Megan smiling sweetly beside him with her hands hugging her arms around her. Beside her, Artemis stood eyes narrowed in concentration at Batman's debriefing with Wally listening as well beside her, hands on hips, costume slightly rumpled. Beside Kid Flash was Kaldur or Aqualad. His hands were by his side, eyes narrowed in thought and fists clenched at his sides in attention. Zatanna was next to Aqualad and she had her arms folded over her stomach with no emotion while Batman spoke.

Zatanna hadn't been speaking to him much after he had officially broken it off with her. It nagged at the back of his mind every time that he saw her. He knew he could get her back in under two minuets, but for some reason, he just didn't. He couldn't make himself go after a girl, though beautiful and amazing in every way, he had no interest in anymore. It was sad that they had stopped talking though, she was great company.

Next to Zatanna was the newest member as of about two months ago. Tall, with strawberry blonde hair and a really pretty smile, was Abrianna Hale. Best friends with Jezebelle Keating. Same cheer team as Megan Moorse. Acquaintance of Superboy. She had been training with Canary and anyone else she could get her hands on for the last six months. Then two months ago, she went out on her first team mission with the rest of them and was officially named part of the Young Justice team. Her Hero name was Flash-Fire.

"Robin," a deep, steel lined voice ordered from above him. Batman.

Robin immediately looked upwards to his mentor on the screen and he felt Batman's lensed eyes burn into him. "Yes." It wasn't a question, he knew he hadn't been paying attention. Batman was probably going to test him on what he had just said.

"Repeat what I just said," Batman ordered without emotion.

Called it. "There is reason to believe Roulette is buying machine parts from weapon dealers across the world from the money she makes at the cage fights. The parts she's gathering is for a machine the Light has already made plans to make. Our mission is to go in, get her suppliers name, her manufacturers, and any other information we deem necessary." Robin stopped for a moment and thought. "Although, the best way to get in would be to get someone undercover to fight so the rest of the team could get in and out of the complex without causing suspicion."

Batman nodded. "Exactly. Aqualad will be getting the information with Artemis and Zatanna. Superboy, Kid Flash and Miss Martian will be on the perimeters, keeping the exits open and looking for the shipment trucks that will stop there tonight. Robin and Flash-Fire will go in as different fighters and will infiltrate under different cage 'Cashers', the people who will give you your fights and pay you for them afterwards."

"Are you giving us identities or do we make them?" Flash-Fire asked off the bat.

"Flash-Fire will go in under a retired fighter name while Robin's name will be Beater in the cages."

"What's my 'retired' fighters name going to be?" Flash-Fire asked.

"Red Butterfly," Batman stated in a monotone. Robin stiffened. "You will dye your hair for the night, and a costume is waiting for you in your respective rooms. The rest of the team will change their costumes to something less…flashy. Don't go in civilians, but change the outfit to look different than you are. You are expected to find your Cashers in four hours. Robin is team leader this mission. Team out." And then Batman disappeared from the screen as suddenly as he had appeared.

Robin stepped forwards and looked over at Flash-Fire immediately. "Start to dye your hair and look the part for this. This might only be a one day operation, but if it's not, you'll need time to get ready for the next few days as well." Robin turned to the rest of the team. "And the rest of you find your costumes as well. Get what you need, and make sure your weapons aren't visible when we go in."

Four hours later, the team was running late. After a horrible hair job on Flash-Fire, courtesy of Miss Martian, Flash-Fire had to re-do her hair again so that it would look natural, and her costume was properly put on, the team met up again before leaving to the complex.

"Flash-Fire and I will find Cashers to get us in four blocks away from the complex. The team will go in in different teams. Me, Kid Flash, Superboy and Zatanna will go under as team Alpha while Flash-Fire, Artemis, Miss Martian and Aqualad will go in under as team Beta. We'll meet up at the complex and go into individual roles after getting in," he said to them as they boarded the Bioship. "Everyone got that?"

The Bioship lifted into the air and the team all nodded to each other.

Megan dropped off Robin and his side of the team first. They were dropped off into an abandoned alleyway, were there was supposedly Cashers looking for new meat. "Megan, establish mental communication."

Megan nodded mostly to herself. "_Mental communication on_."

Robin nodded and sighed in the mic coms. He started walking down the deserted alleyway and motioned for the rest of the team to go in the opposite direction. "Good. Meet up with your casher. Everyone else on Beta team needs to be at least a street away from the meeting when it happens. Cashers don't want a group of people, only the individual fighters. And no matter what, _don't_ interfere when the Casher and Flash-Fire meet." Robin went around a corner. "They will test you, and you will have to respond no matter what. They might even have a set up against you to see if you can live in the cages." He breathed out slowly as his eyes met his own Cashers shadowed figure further down the alleyway. "Good luck."

Alpha and Beta teams understood and Megan drove the Bioship to another deserted alleyway some blocks over. They were late for the meeting Batman had set up for them with the Cashers. Flash-Fire got to the hole of the ship and dropped to the ground easily beneath it. "What's my name supposed to be again?"

"Red Butterfly," Kid Flashes voice came through her com.

Flash-Fire nodded and crouched in the alleyways shadows as the Bioship flew away from her, letting her handle her first _almost_ solo assignment. She moved fast and under the shadows of the setting sun, she rounded a few more corners before she heard voices.

"-the caterpillars back in their places." It was a girl's voice, she knew that for sure. But it sounded scratchy and…off. Like she had purposely lowered her voice beyond her comfort range.

There was a man's snort, sounding amused and Flash-Fire moved closer to the voices. This was probably her Casher.

"Yea right. And I'm the queen of England lady," says a man's voice indifferently. "Listen, we have seen about a dozen wanna-be Butterflies in the last eight months okay? You are no different. You just want to get big in the shadow of a big name."

Flash-Fire is almost to them, and her eyes narrow dangerously. "_Team, someone else is here who is playing as the Butterfly as well,_" she informs both teams in her mind.

"_Crap-"_

"_Oh shi-"_

"_Where are-"_

"_Get out of-"_

Several voices reach her mind and Flash-Fire almost winces. Robin's voice overpowers the rest of the jumbled team's words, and her mind falls silent. _"You are going to have to convince them you're the real one Flash-Fire. Or else you can't get the rest of the team in."_

"The name wasn't what made me oompa-loompa." The female's voice says in her faked baritone.

"_And how the hell am I supposed to do that!"_Flash-Fire yells at the voices in her head.

"It was the way I fought," again the fake baritone makes her speech, obviously warming up to something. She had probably halfway talked her way into getting in the cages already, she had to hurry.

"_Just-"_ Robin's voice said in her head.

Wally interrupted. "_Just put your com onto the last level in your ear and everyone will be able to hear what your hearing. We'll tell you what to say."_

Brilliant! That might actually work! Fire-Flash put her hand to her ear and pulled the thin metal switch on the inside of her com next to her ear as swiftly as possible.

"_Wow Kid Mouth, didn't know you had brains enough for more than food up there,"_ Artemis says in her mind.

"_I'd surprise you to all the things I can do beautif-"_

"_Knock it off!"_ Flash-Fire snapped in her head. _"You guys can suck face later! Just tell me what to-"_

"-And I'm willing to bet I can fight better than any other cage fighter you've ever seen." The female voice is filled with confidence. Flash Fire steps closer to the wall. Now or never. She steps out in the alleyway, unseen at first.

"_say something catchy like-"_ Wally's voice said from my mind.

"_No make it intimidating, so the look-a-like will back off without a-"_came Artemis's voice.

"_No just-"_Flash-Fire cuts off Zatanna's next words with her own.

She leans against the wall and puts on a fake smirk. "Is that so?"

Flash-Fire can't see the other girl, but she knows she's watching her. Half a beat goes by with silence before the other girl talks back with more attitude than Flash-Fire can stomach.

"Yea, it's damn straight copy-cat. And if you're gonna role play as me, get it right and do your homework. I always make sure my voice is a pitch lower than my normal voice is so I don't give my identity away."

"_Opps. Uh… why wasn't that in the information?"_ Artemis asked.

"_Batman didn't know…?"_ Zatanna said, wandering off.

"_If Batman didn't know how did __**she**__?"_ Wally asked.

"_Don't know don't care! Comeback people! I need a comeback!"_

"_uhhhh…" said Superboy's voice._

"_Oh! Say…" Wally's voice_

"I couldn't give a rat's ass about my identity, so you're wrong. Get out of my street and out of my cage."

"_Wally! Don't encourage bad words!"_ Megan yelled through her mind.

"_Flash-Fire, what is her appearance?"_ Aqualad asked, ignoring the last comment.

"_I don't know, she's in the shadows!"_

"_And your Cashers?"_

"_Also in the shadows!"_

The other girl's figure in the shadows moves slightly, her left hand is on her hip. "Don't give a rat's ass bout your identity? You're wearing a mask dumb ass! Your arguments invalid. Get out." The girls hand comes out into the light across from Flash-Fire and points to the alley opening behind her.

"_Uh…ouch,"_ Zatanna says.

"_Nice thinking Kid Mouth!"_ Artemis says.

"_Just keep going!"_ Wally wails.

"_With what?"_ Fire-Flash yells back.

"_Attack her with words. With something like –" Artemis says._

"_No bad words!" Megan yells._

"I should see the face of the little girl who's trying to undermine my status." It's not an offer. It's an order.

"_Great, now meet her halfway, so take the first step,"_ Zatanna eggs her on.

Flash Fire takes a step into the alleyway, and shows the three people her outfit and physic. Only, the other Butterfly stays hidden in the shadows.

Robin snorts in Flash Fire's head.

"_What was wrong with what I-" _Zatanna instantly attacks Robin.

"_Nothing Zee, nothing. You just-"_

"_I just what?"_

The other Butterfly snorts loudly like she's trying to fight back a full blown hysteric laugh. "Little girl, sweet heart? Status? See that's cute. If you were really me, it wouldn't have been little girl, it would have been _amateur._ Not some half assed attempt to make my street rep get a little higher in front of two future employers." She sneers viciously at Flash Fire. "And I definitely wouldn't say _status_." Flash Fire sees the other Butterfly look over at the two men who are supposedly her Cashers. This can't be good. "Actually, the only people who would say that around here are _Feds._ Or police."

"_That's what,"_ Robin says, his voice sinking.

"W-what!" Flash Fire yells out. "You can't be serious!"

"Oh, I'm dead serious. You can't be too careful around other new-bies, new-bie."

"_Crap."_

"_Robin, this is-"_

"_We should go back-"_

"_Cover's blown guys. Great. Batman's gonna be-"_

"_Who is this chi-"_

"Tell you what Fed. I'll fight you to be the Butterfly… got it?"

All the voices in Flash-Fires head stop and she looks deeply into the shadows at the other girl. This was not how this was supposed to work out. _Guys?_ "Fight you for it?" Flash-Fire repeats like an idiot.

"_Uh…"_

"_Do you seriously have a choice?"_ Artemis asks with sarcasm.

"_No, not really,"_ Wally answered.

"_I would be cautious Flash Fire. This may still be a set up,"_ Aqualad's voice says.

"Yea, fight me for it. You wanna go in and fight in my name? Show me how good you are. The one left standing will be Butterfly."

Flash Fire freezes in her step forwards. _Guys? Any other ideas?_

"_She's leading the conversation and the Cashers already trust her more. You have no other option_," Robin said.

"_I don't think you have any other choice but to-"_Miss Martian said.

"_Kick his butt,"_ Superboy said with grim amusement.

"_Guys she can't do this alone! She's barely been out for two months! We don't know if this other Butterfly is good or not!"_ Zatanna shouted in their minds, being the voice of reason.

"_Zee, there's no other way for this to go!"_ Robin said back.

"_Guys, stop-"_ Flash Fire tries to break the argument.

"_Robin! This is the first time she'll be going out without team backup!"_

"_She can't have you help her in front of the Cashers or they won't let us in!"_

"_She could get hurt!"_

"_She's a hero! Black Canary taught her-"_

"_She hasn't been doing this as long as we have!"_

"_She'll be-"_

"_This other Butterfly could be really good! We can't risk to-"_

"_We can't afford not to risk it Zee!"_

Zatanna's voice in Flash-Fires head exploded in an angry scream and Fire-Flash's head flinched to the side in pain._ "Don't call me that Robin! You lost that privilege when you broke up with me! Stop acting so heartless and treating me like-"_

"_Guys, so not the time right now,"_ Wally broke through Zatanna's anger.

Fire-Flash watches the other Butterfly tense for a moment, and her eyes narrow. _Guys…_

The other Butterfly moves faster than Flash-Fire can register and she barely hears the "Ready? Set. Go!" the other girl yells at her, before she is throwing herself off the wall and onto her.

"_AHHH," _she yells into her head, making sure her face is impassive.

"_Flash-fire, the Bioship is above you. If you need help, we'll be right here,"_ Megan says.

"_Oh great,"_ Flash-Fire can't help but comment sarcastically.

"_Just… beat her,"_ Artemis added unhelpfully.

"_Yea, I'll do that."_

"If you wanted to make my costume look original, you would have known that I used red contact lenses with my outfit," the other Butterfly yells at me full of attitude.

Flash-Fire pushes herself backwards as fast as she can, trying to get out of the limited space. The other Butterfly is right above her, jumping from one wall to the next, flexible and swift, like a pro. "_Definitely not an amateur guys,"_ Flash-Fire yells through her head as she pushes herself farther and farther backwards. The alleyway opening is behind her and she throws herself backwards into a tumble where she lands on her feet.

Flash-Fire watches as the other Butterfly jumps off the wall and rolls to the ground perfectly.

"_Wow, she really knows what she's doing,"_ Artemis says, watching from the Bioship.

"_W-What is she dressed in? That's not what Red Butterfly looks like,"_ Megan asked.

Flash-Fire had to agree. This… teenager? She wore blue jean shorts with a dark green, bleached spotted, tank top and gray toms. The only thing that was the same was her hail being pulled back into a high ponytail and something covering her lower face. A red bandana, seriously? _And she was giving me crap about my outfit?_ Flash-Fire asked in her head.

Her eyes look at Flash-Fires, and all of a sudden, she gasps in recognition.

"_The body build, the height, the hair… her eyes. But she can fight! How long has she been able to fight like that! Since when did she know…wait... Since when was she considered the Red Butterfly? She fought in the cages? Why didn't she ever tell me!"_ Her mind flew at a hundred miles an hour and the rest of the team connected to her thoughts had a hard time keeping up.

"_Wait! You know who she is?_" Wally yelled.

"_How do you know who she-"_Artemis asked.

"_Who is it!"_ Megan asked.

"How long have you been fighting New-bie?" The Original Red Butterfly asked Flash-Fire. "From your speed, I'm guessing not even a year. Do you seriously think you'll live through the cages with just that? You'll have to show me so much more than that."

"_Who is she?"_ Superboy asked, hitting Flash-Fires thoughts.

"_Abby talk to us!"_ Megan's worried voice called to her.

"_I-It's Jezebelle_," Flash-Fire whispered in her mind in shock and disbelief.

There was a silence in her head and around her for a split second as Jezebelle watched her from behind her disguise, the team watched them from the invisible Bioship above them, and Abby watched her best friend behind her own mask; playing her.

Then, the stretched moment ended and Jezebelle leaped forwards faster than Abrianna thought possible with her hands in fists and her eyes narrowed like a predator watching it kill its first prey.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, I bet you didn't see that coming for this chapter :) Nah, I thought not.<strong>

**She knows who Batman and Robin are!**

**And she's back in the cages, well, almost. If she can beat her best friends butt. Who is now apart of the Young Justice League. On a mission...**

**UP NEXT: Jezebelle and Robin fight, Company issues arise, and Karina comes back! Maybe an old dept will be paid?**

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**

**~Missmusicluver**


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: I own nothing DC comics does. **

* * *

><p>I jump forwards with all my strength at the fake wanna-be-me. Wind rushes through my hair, eyes and outstretched hand in the air as I watch wanna-be-me drop to the ground and roll to the side. Her eyes flash dangerously in the lamp light of the street and she gets to her feet right as I land and roll to my own feet.<p>

I watch her arms swing into a defensive position, and her legs spread away from her body in a tight ground stance. Her hair moves, swishing, with her body like a following shadow as she crouches close to the ground. I can't help but notice the similar shape of the eyes that follow me in the dark.

Almond shaped eyes. Thick eyelashes, eyelashes vain girls would kill for.

She had a voice I knew, and eyes I recognized. The question was, who the hell was she?

"You don't have to fight me," Wanna-be-me says quietly, interrupting me thoughts.

"Are you surrendering?"

Wanna-be-me doesn't move, but I see her eyes flicker to the ground. I don't take advantage of the opening. "No, I can't do that."

"Neither can I."

She looks upwards at me with squinted eyes. "Why can't you?"

"Why can't I what?"

"Why can't you just walk away?"

I'm tempted to scrunch my eyebrows together and put my hands on my hips in annoyance, but I stay completely still. Why was I doing this? I was mad as hell and I wanted to hit something that's why. Batman was Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne was Batman. Dick freaking Grayson, the kid that I- … that I… healed, was Robin! Freaking Robin! Oddly enough though, I didn't want to say anything about my anger.

So I say the first thing that came to my head. "I-I'm looking for someone." And as soon as the words are out, I know they're also true. I was looking for someone, and I had an uncanny feeling I would be able to find her there. She had been there last time.

"Who?"

This time, I do scrunch my eyebrows. "Why do you care? I have to find her and that's the end of the story."

"So it's a her."

I narrow my eyes in mounting annoyance. I might know this person, but right now, I was starting to get very annoyed. "Yes. Yes it is. I have business with her." I crouch lower to the ground, and I focus on her legs.

"If you tell me, I could go in and get her for you before-"

I stand up completely straight. I shake my head. "Alright, so you forfeit the fight. Good for you. Now go on home and burn the crap suit you copied from me." I turn my back to her and start walking to the alleyway again.

"What? Wait! What are you doing! I didn't say I forfeited anything!"

I wave my hand dismissively at her. "You didn't have to. You're lack of action said all that I needed." I walk onwards, but my senses are all alert at my back. She wouldn't just let this go. Her suit was enough proof that she was dedicated enough to see this through. I wasn't going to be leaving this without a fight.

"Wait! Stop! You can't just-!" Gravel crunches behind me, feet away, and I know she's moving towards me. "Just stop for a momen-"

I turn and my right leg flashes across the air. It smashes against the side of the taller girl's head making the girl stumble backwards in shock and pain. My leg lands back on the ground gently and my body twirls from the momentum back in front of the fallen girl. "Fight or go home. You're about to go in the cages. Talking won't save you in there. If you want to survive, you have to fight. Starting now."

I let her get to her feet. She shakes her head slowly and I see her blinking furiously. She was already seeing spots, God she wouldn't be able to last five minuets in the cages. "I don't want to fight you," she says, her voice turns into a whisper. Her eyes meet mine, and I'm almost tempted to step backwards away from her. She knew who I was too. She knew me.

I sigh internally, and my eyes narrow even farther. "Then go home. The cages aren't meant for little girls who can't handle themselves."

Fore explodes from the tips of the girl's fingers. My eyes widen and my foot takes a step backwards. She was a pyrokene-

"Don't call me a little girl! I don't know what happened to you but you can't seriously-"

"How do you know me!? I've never seen you before in my life!" I scream at her, anger and frustration exploding my words.

Wanna-be-me girl's eyes widen. "You honestly don't know yet?"

"Know what!"

The two Cashers from the side of the alleyway walk into the open street with us. "Alright, I've had about enough. I don't know 'bout you Ed, but I've seen all I need. What 'bout you?"

The big black man, who apparently was named Ed, nodded silently. "I want the first one."

Wanna-be-me's eyes widen in shock and strangely enough, fear. "No! You guys didn't see us-"

"We saw plenty, didn't we Ed?" Ed nods silently. "We saw you talkin instead of fightin didn't we Ed?" Ed nods again, robotically.

I glance at the two Cashers before looking back at the pyrokenesis. "Go home. Learn to be faster on your turns and in breaks. And pick a better person to copy while you're at it." I straighten from my crouch and I walk to the Cashers. "See you later kid."

The Cashers and I walk away from the silent and abandoned fighter in the middle of the deserted street. I turn to look back at her only once before I disappear into the shadows of the alleyway, and I watch as a silent wind picked up the girls high pony tailed hair and twists in around the girls covered face.

Her eyes were downcast at the pavement below her in deep disappointment and I studied the curve of the girl's eyebrow and forehead. The shape of her large eyes, the planes of her showing face. I knew her that was for sure. It was like being blind folded while trying different types of food. You knew what it was called; you just couldn't recall the name.

I turn back to the two Cashers, my mind still replaying the teenagers features over and over in my head.

* * *

><p>Robin was in. He had gotten the Cashers to take him in, sign him up and get him a locker in the locker room. Now he was waiting and talking to his team mates via telekinesis. "<em>And there's no way for you to get in?"<em> he asked for the second time.

"_I told you, I've been looking for extra Cashers for the last twenty minuets and there's no one left_," Flash-Fire answered back.

"_Are you sure?"_

"_Robin!"_

"_Maybe Megan can just sneak us in through the walls, or make us look like other people in disguises?"_ Artemis suggested also in his head.

"_No, she wouldn't be able to concentrate on all of you and also be able to keep up telekinesis __**and **__worry about her own safety."_

"_I could tr-"_ Miss Martian said softly.

"_No Megan, I wouldn't put you through that kind of pressure."_

"_So then what?"_ Flash-Fire asked.

"_There's only one thing to do. You guys will all have to wait outside and watch the boarders. Alpha team will do the mission from here on out."_

"_Robin that'll be way more danger-"_

"_Robin out."_ Robin mentally unleashes himself from the conversation and leans against the locker doors behind him.

Footsteps smack against the floor heavily towards him, and Robin immediately lifts his head to his approaching team mate. "Zatanna has stationed herself in the girl's locker room," Superboy says, dressed in dark blue colored jeans, a black T-shirt and green colored contacts with a red strip on the left side of his hair.

Robin nods in understanding and Superboy sits himself down next to him silently. Superboy puts his elbows on his knees and looks upwards as Kid Flash walks at normal speed into the locker room and towards his two friends. Kid Flash stops in front of them both and sits down at Robins other side, wearing black pants, a dark green T-shirt, black Vans shoes, and black arm bands around his biceps. He had dyed his hair black and was gelled upwards with the tips dyed green. He had put in red contacts over his normally green eyes and he had two fake piercings on his eyebrows and lip.

Robin grins at his friend. "Artemis has got to love _that_ look," he remarks sarcastically.

Kid Flash shrugs his shoulders. "She couldn't really say much after what _she_ had to wear," he grins mercilessly.

Robin smirks back just as amused, thinking of their now electric blue haired friend wearing black fishnets, a leather miniskirt, and a shoulder-less black corseted top with three inch black heels. All pulled together with fake tattoos lining her face, down her neck and around her shoulders. "Yea, but you _loved _it."

Kid Flash unsuccessfully hid his small smile and shakes his head in denial. "Nah man, I didn't get the chance to. She started yelling at me about how stupid I looked the moment she saw me."

Superboy shares a grin too. "I thought she looked good, but Megan was… wow."

Kid Flash out right laughs. "Getting second thoughts about breaking it off with her?"

Superboy gives Kid Flash a fake annoyed glance. "You saw her. It was hard not to."

Robin grins wider. "You know she was dressing it up for you."

Superboy loses his smirk and looks over at Robin. "What?"

Robin nods lightly. "Yea, walked by and did a little … extra undercover work."

Kid Flash smacks Robin in the shoulder. "You dirty bird! You were spying on them while they dressed weren't you, you lucky dog!" Kid Flash smiles wider, and then suddenly his smile vanishes. "Wait you didn't see Artemis did you? Because that's not cool man, she's-"

"No Kid, I didn't spy on them while they were dressing. I only eaves dropped little bit. Trust me, they were all one hundred percent dressed. They were just doing their makeup and stuff." Robin turned back to Superboy. "And Megan was talking about you."

Superboy raised his eyebrows. "Wha'd she say?"

Robin raised an eyebrow behind his black face mask. The cotton fabric covered his entire head, save the eyes, mouth and the very top. On the top was a chunk of material missing and it let the dyed fire red gelled spikes see the light on the top of his head. "What do you think she was saying?"

Superboy shrugged a shoulder. "She hates me?"

Robin lost his smirk and shook his head. "No, she misses you. According to her, she was really dollying it up with the help of Artemis, Zatanna and Flash-Fire to make her look… well… like _that_."

Before the team had left, every single male team member had been shocked beyond reason when Megan walked in the meeting room in shorts way too short to be considered shorts, black high heeled combat boots that laced up to her knees, and a silver see-through top that showed the black bra underneath. She had morphed her hair to be straight and silver blonde that reached just under her chest, with the left side of her head being shaved close to the skin, the stubble showing an intricate symbol of some unrecorded language that was dyed black against the silver that surrounded it.

"Yea," Superboy says still lost in the memory. "Well, they did a good job."

Kid Flash snickers openly and shoulders Robin lightly. "Sure did, didn't they Rob. Oh that's right, he wasn't paying attention!"

Superboy raises an eyebrow as his only facial expression. "You weren't staring at Zatanna?"

Kid Flash answers for him. "Nope. He was completely in his own world. Actually, he was staring at double F."

Superboy's eyebrow rises higher. "Abrianna?" He looked at Robin. "You like Abby?"

Kid Flash opens his mouth, but Robin beats him to the punch. "No. No, I definitely don't. I just… knew what she was wearing."

Superboy glances at Kid Flash before coming back to Robin. "The Red Butterfly costume? What about it?"

Robin's face immediately becomes expressionless behind the mask, and Robin's head leans away from the conversation. "Nothing, just thought I-"

"You know Jez," Superboy's question came out more as a statement.

Kid Flash looks between Superboy and Robin. "What? You know her Rob?"

Robin shakes his head. "No. Kinda. Sorta. It's …complicated."

Kid Flash meets Superboy's eyes. "Do you like Jezebelle Rob?"

Robin looks at the ground. He should already know the answer to this question. "Mrwoo," he says quietly.

"Wha?" Kid Flash asks, not hearing. Superboy nudges Robin, already hearing the answer with his super hearing. "Wha'd he say?" Kid Flash asks Superboy.

"No," Robin says louder and meeting Kid Flash's eyes. "No, I don't like her."

"Are you sur-"

A beefy body guard of the cages flings open the doors loudly and glares at Robin or "Beater" now that he was in the cages system. "Let's go Fresh-meat. Your first round is on in three," he practically yells at the three teenagers. "The rest of you, get the first aid ready for when he comes back in. He won't loo the same when he comes through these doors again."

Robin/Beater stands up and the body guard leaves out the door a moment later. "Wish me luck," Beater calls over his shoulder to his two team mates.

"Luck!" Kid Flash smiles.

"You don't really need it," Superboy states.

Robin grins slightly and closes the door behind him while his team mates get the first aid ready for him when he gets back.

* * *

><p>I change into the new 'Red Butterfly' outfit Ed and Tony, my Cashers, hand to me when we get in. A pair of black stretchy jeans, black combat boots, a thin V-necked black long sleeved shirt with a scary looking red butterfly painted on the back. I got to keep my red bandana, and I used twine from a body guard to tie down the edges around my face to my neck.<p>

I finish, step out of the bathroom I had changed in and sit down.

"Who will win? The Beater?! Or the Hot Flame!?" a woman's yelling voice echoes off the female locker room's walls from the fight going on only a floor above me.

I snort in disgust. "God, who seriously thinks up these piece of crap names?"

"What?" a female voice says sarcastically in a shadowed corner near me. "And Red Butterfly is just so much better?"

I look over at the direction the new voice was coming from and I shift on the long metal bar I was sitting on. "You got a problem with my name girly; come out of the darkness and say it to my face."

Another snort is audible from the shadows, and I see a girl my age, maybe a year older, step out in to the light slowly. She had long, bright pink, colored hair up in a high pony tail with blue and purple pieces shinning out at random places. She had purple contacted eyes with bright red lipstick and charcoal eye shadow.

She wore a dark blue T-shirt with a crossed out Superman symbol on the front that was cut off at the sleeves and down the sides so that the black cover slip over her bra could show through. She had on skin tight black jeans and wore shin high black high heeled boots. All topped off with a pair of thick black glasses that covered her contacted eyes. In reality, it was kind of ironic. She wore a crossed out Superman symbol on her chest with the same kind of glasses Clark Kent wears all day. It almost made me laugh.

"Who are you?" I ask narrowing my eyes at her.

"Za-" she cut herself off and her eyes hit the floor for a half a second. "-thura."

"Zathura?" I ask raising a single eyebrow. Liar. "What an interesting name."

She narrowed her eyes at me and her nose flared. "Yea, interesting."

I raise my hands as if retreating. "Not here to pick a fight before I get my money okay girly?" I put my hands down and lean back against the lockers behind me. "So which one of them is yours. Beater or Hot Flame?" I ask closing my eyes and leaning backwards.

"W-What?" She asked like she was taken off guard.

"Your boyfriend. Which one of them is it? I know you aren't stupid enough to go looking for a fight in a fight club, so the only other explanation is that you're dating one of the guys that I mentioned and I accidentally insulted him to you. So you got defensive." I say shrugging my shoulders with my eyes still closed. "So which one is he?"

I feel her sit down next to me, and I crack open my left eye at her in question. "I'm not dating either one of them."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"So one of them is your newly ex?"

There was a pause. "Yes." It sounded almost reluctant.

"Still love him?"

"More than anyone."

"Hot Flame?"

"Beater."

"Ahhh," I say nodding. I look over at her. "So why'd you guys break it off?"

She leans against the lockers with a sigh. "He got tired of me I guess."

I look her up and down and she watches me suspiciously. "I highly doubt it's because he got bored." I point down at her outfit and I make my eyebrows almost rise to my hairline. "I mean _damn_."

She looks at me, and her face cracks out into a little smile. The image changed her entire face. Instead of looking like a five year olds Barbie, she looked kinda, almost, beautiful. If I had been lesbian, I would have went for it.

Too bad my interests were in someone else. Er, well, in the general male population. Not _someone_ else, because I didn't really know him. He had a secret identity for god's sake!

"Thanks," she whispered.

"No problem. Though I doubt I've been the first one who's told you, but you could probably do a _lot_ better."

She smiles her little smile a little wider. "Yea, your right. You're not the first person who's said-"

"AND THE BEATER WINS!" Roulette's voice yells at the roaring audience above us.

"That was fast," I hear myself say. I give Zathura a shrug. "Well, your ex won. I don't know whether to say congrats or give him the bird when I walk out of here."

She giggles and I feel a corner of my mouth come up at her laugh. "Leave him alone. It's his first night here anyways."

I nod seriously. "Only because you said so will I leave the Fresh Meat alone."

She smiles before giving me a solid stare. "What, it's not your first night here?"

I shake my head. "Nope. I've been gone for a while, but I used to be here a lot."

"How many times have you-"

"Butterfly! You're up!" a beefy guard opens the door and yells at me. "You're on in four!"

I get up and nod at Zathura. "See you," I say in farewell before turning to the guard. "Thanks Leo, I'll get it from here."

Leo the guard raised both eyebrows in surprise. "So it really is you," he comments.

I give him a cheeky grin. "No one can do me better than me, we both know that."

Leo smiles and opens the door wider for me to go before him. I wave at Zathura one last time before the next hallway swallows me up.

* * *

><p>Robin held on to the edges of the metal table as Kid Flash taped Robin's ribs tight in bandages. "Of all guys to go against…" Kid muttered.<p>

"Why didn't you just kick his butt as soon as you got out there?" Superboy asked, shaking his head at Robin's clenching fingers.

"I had to give them a show. And I couldn't have just beaten him down right away, or else they would all wonder how I got so good, and we don't want them suspecting anything. I would have gone on longer with it if he hadn't of cracked my ribs," Robin answered.

"How do you know there cracked and not broken?" Kid asked.

"Cracked hurt more."

Superboy grimaced. "Well just this next fight before Zatanna, Kid and I go in and look for the documents. Just hold together until then."

Robin mirrored Superboy's face and grimaced. "I'll manage."

"PRESENTING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ALMOST NINE MONTHS, THE RED BUTTERFLY! OR IS SHE REALLY? IS SHE JUST ANOTHER FAKE BUTTERFLY, TRYING TO MAKE HER NAME? ONLY THIS FIGHT WILL TELL! NOW INTRODUCING…" Roulette's voice shook the boy's locker room. She seemed excited. "In the other corner is our very own BLACK BLAZE!"

"Black Blaze?" Superboy snorts.

"Sounds like it came out a cereal box," Kid Flash joked.

"From a dumpster in the 50's," Robin smiled painfully.

"Really shouldn't talk like that _Beater_. You have no room to laugh at him," Superboy grinned.

Robin shoved Superboy lightly, flinching internally at the pain in his side when he moved his arms, but he forced a smile on his face. Kid Flash saw through the façade. "Dude, you okay? Maybe you shouldn't go through with –"

Robin shook his head. "I'm fine. I've had worse trust me, I'll live."

Kid glanced at Superboy and he shrugged his shoulders at him. "Okay, do you want to-"

"OH AND THE BUTTERFLY SLAMS HER DOWN!" Roulette's voice screamed excitedly.

Superboy looked up at the ceiling of the locker room with a frown. "Still can't believe Jez was… is Red Butterfly." He looked over at Kid Flash and Robin. "I knew her. Megan trusted her. Abby was her best friend. How did no one know? How did no one see what she was doing?"

Robin stood up from the bench. "Some people do things because they feel they have no way out."

"Yea, but why'd she fight? And why here? The only thing that's comes out of these cages are hired guns for Super Villains. She just… we could have helped her."

Robin put his hand on Superboy's shoulder. "She wouldn't have let you, you know that right? You say you knew her? Then you know how stubborn she is and how protective she was of Miranda."

Superboy turned to Robin slowly and Robin dropped his hand from Superboy's shoulder. Crap, he had said too much. "How do you know about Miranda? Actually, how do you know how Jez acts?"

Robin was at a loss of words for a moment, before turning his back on his team mates. "I don't know her. The other side of me knows her."

Kid Flash's eye brows went sky high and Superboy nodded, even though Robin's identity was still a mystery to him. "Did you know her before or after?"

"After Miranda died."

"Then you really don't know her."

* * *

><p>Black Blaze.<p>

My eyes landed on her the moment I was elevated into the metal cage. She looked almost exactly the same from the last time I had seen her. Red tinted skin, brown eyes, long black hair; well, her hair was longer from the last time we talked. She wore a black miniskirt, tube top that reached the top of her belly button and no shoes. Her eyes looked at me, and I saw her hands twitch. "Oh look another Copy Cat. I'll have fun destroying you like I did with all the others."

"Well, at least it won't be the cage then."

Her dark brown eyes flash at me. "Just because you watched all of her fights, doesn't make you her."

"No it wouldn't. But if I have to fix you up again because another one of your stupid mistakes, you'll wish you'd been fighting one of those Copy Cats."

Black Blaze's eyes widen and I see her hands unclench for a moment. "Wha- How do you know about that? That was a private-"

I look her dead in the eyes. "It's me Black Blaze. The real me. And I think I'm going to have to call on one, or both of those favors you owe me from the last time we were in this cage. I need your help."

Black Blaze stands up straight in shock. "It's really you? …You came back here after everything?... Are you crazy! Why would you throw away whatever good opportunity you had going for-"

"PRESENTING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ALMOST NINE MONTHS, THE RED BUTTERFLY! OR IS SHE REALLY? IS SHE JUST ANOTHER FAKE BUTTERFLY, TRYING TO MAKE HER NAME? ONLY THIS FIGHT WILL TELL! NOW INTRODUCING…" Roulette's screaming voice goes down a bit. "In the other corner is our very own BLACK BLAZE!"

"I was looking for you," I answer bluntly.

I straighten from my crouch too and we face each other from opposite sides of the cage with level, staring eyes. "Well you found me," she answers back. "Why were you searching?"

"I told you. I need one of those favors."

She narrows her eyes in automatic suspicion. "For what?"

"WHO DO YOU THINK WILL WIN!?"

I stay calm. "For getting out of here, permanently."

Her suspicious glare lessens for a moment, before her eyebrows come together in a deep frown. "What do you mean?"

"I mean leaving the cages, and getting some real money in a job. Dental care and everything."

"BET NOW!"

She stares at me. Not immediately objecting. I was in the clear to keep going. "Work where?"

I hold her eyes in mine. "Work for me. I'm opening this up to only a couple of people. You are one of a kind, and as freaking stupid as it seems, I trust you more than I trust the rest of the dunderheads in my company."

She facial expression remains the same, and I watch her movements closely. "Me, work for you?"

"Starting tomorrow."

She swallows. "How much do you pay?" Crowds are talking loudly all around us, and I barely hear the suspicion in her voice anymore.

"More than she is, but more than that, I offer dental and medical benefits."

"How?"

"I own two companies. Newly made companies, and I need people I can trust right off the bat."

"You trust me?"

"Only a margin more than I can throw you."

She smirks. "Then I'm in."

Now it's my turn to look at her suspiciously. That was way too easy. "So soon to accept my offer?"

Her eyes flicker around the mass of people placing bets surrounding us, the stage lights glaring down at us, and the metal that encaged us. She looks unsure for a moment, and then scared. I watch her face, and I realize… she's hiding something.

"I needed an escape route. You're giving me one. End of story." Her eyes are back at me, and I see hardened steel under the brown depths. "As long as the medical coverage is still included."

I nod at her. Her left hand flinches to her abdomen. The right hand comes closer to her belly and my eyes widen. There was no way. Absolutely no way she was in here and- "Are you pregnant?" I ask, meant for only her ears.

Her hands immediately move away from her body and her eyes widen. In fear? No, it was in absolute terror. Yes she was pregnant, and she was a lost.

"FIGHT!" Roulette's voice screams, and the crowd answers with a deafening roar.

She was pregnant in a fighting club.

My head moves to the side and I narrow my eyes at her. Oh hell no she was not about to seriously do this. "You are hired as of now. You will throw this fight Black Blaze, and you will not put your child in harm's way." I lunge to her left and I see her instinctively move to the right and circle around so she had opportunity to hit my back. I duck down and I throw out my leg to the back of hers. My leg makes contact with her and she falls to the ground on her back.

"OH AND THE BUTTERFLY SLAMS HER DOWN!"

I roll forwards instantly and I strike her between the neck and shoulder. Her eyes roll up into her head when I pull my fist away.

"AND BUTTERFLY WINS! LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE THE REAL DEAL HERE TONIGHT LADIES AND GENTLMEN! LET'S WELCOME BACK OUR LOST QUEEN FIGHTER!"

I stand up and nod at the wave of screams of approval from the crowd around me.

"BUT THAT'S NOT ALL LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! NO, NOT AT ALL! OUR NEWEST BUTTERFLY WILL GO AGAINST ONE OF OUR NEWEST FIGHTERS TONIGHT! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BEATER IS BACK FOR MORE, BUT THIS TIME HE COMES FOR THE BUTTERFLY'S BLOOD!"

Blaze's body is dragged off the cage carefully and I watch as 'Beater' rises in from the hole in the mat. He was taller than me by about three inches, muscled, but not enormously so. He wore a leather jacket with the collar up, acid washed jeans with a chair hanging from his front around to his back and black shoes. A black t-shirt was visible under the leather jacket as well, but I stare at his mask. A typical thief's mask. Black cotton covered his entire face except his eyes, mouth and then a small chunk at the top where red tipped hair protruded from the top with gel making it stick straight upwards. It looked like the top of his was on fire.

"BET NOW!"

But he had blue eyes. Very blue eyes. They almost reminded me of- I pinch myself before I start thinking about his name, but the damage is already done. Dick's name vibrates around in my head and I feel red hot anger slide around in my stomach and down my throat. It reached my fingertips and bottoms of my feet. It filled me up, and made me narrow my eyes at this fool.

His eyes were blue, so I was gonna beat the crap out of him. Yea, I wasn't holding a grudge or anything.

He looks at me as well, and I see his eyes travel up and down my body, taking everything in. I don't squirm under his gaze. "Enjoying what you see?" I ask.

His mouth thins and I could bet he was smiling. "There's not a lot of skin to see darling. But your friend before, the red one, now she was a looker," his voice carries a heavy country accent, and it oozes arrogance. But then again, I never would have seen biker boy to have such a country side.

"Sorry I had to take her away," I return sarcastically.

His smile gets bigger. "It's okay dove, I think I'll be just fine takin care of those long legs of yours."

I snort. "If you can touch them, you can have them small fry."

The lights above us shadow his eyes as he bows his head, but I would bet he was laughing. "I think I'll take you up on that Miss Butterfly." He looks back up at me, and sure as hell, his eyes are laughing at me. Son of a b- "But just cause I'm new here don't mean you'll win sweetheart."

"Oh I wasn't talking about your small reputation _Beater_," I smirk. "Though I do guess that would match perfectly with the rest of your small…_assets._" I look down purposefully at him and I'm happy to see his eyes narrow the slightest.

"That ain't funny ma'am."

"Nothing the size of half a tick-tack is ever funny _Sir_," I say back with a horrible country accent.

"FIGHT!"

His anger in clenched down in his fists, and I take the opportunity to lunge forwards. He backs up immediately with widening eyes and he turns away from me when I lunge at him again. I swing my fist at his face and he leans backwards with perfect grace. His left foot comes upwards towards my head and I roll to the side from his high kick. He doesn't miss a beat though, and he hits my kidneys when I try to retreat backwards.

I kick out my right leg under both of his and he comes crashing down to the floor with me. Air escapes him, and I take the opening to pin his arms down with my knees. I straddle over him, and I press all my weight into my knees so his arms don't come up. I lean over his face and I see his smiling mouth behind the cotton mask.

"Now this is more like it dove," he smirks easily.

My jaw clenches and I punch him across the right side of his jaw. His whole head moves with my punch and cotton hits my bare fists when my left fist punches down at him after the first. I hit him again and again, until I see blood coming out of his mouth and on the mats around me. The crowd is cheering my name and my stomach tightens. I should stop. Suddenly, one of his legs comes up and wraps around my neck.

The crowd gasps as one.

It pulls me backwards and my knees release his arms and upper body. My hands go to the leg wrapped around my neck and I pull it away from me as fast as I can. It's stopping my air intake and my lungs protest loudly as I struggle with the muscled leg. I push myself backwards and I roll to the left when I slam into the ground, his leg comes down right where I had just been.

I roll farther away from him and I get myself to my feet just as Beater gets his feet underneath him and shakes his head, probably dizzier than hell. "What Beater? Did my performance lack what you were wanting?" I ask, making him turn to me.

"Not at all dove. But you _do_ need to work on your_ stamina_. You only held up a little while, while I could go on _all night_."

I clench my teeth again and smile at him in more of a grimace. "Still didn't touch my legs though."

He grins. "Not yet, but I will."

"Bring it on Tick-Tack."

He sprints forwards faster than I have ever seen a man his size move and I slide under his outstretched arm on my knees. I feel his fist graze over my nose as I slide farther away and I lean farther back until he's a good couple of feet behind me. I spin to my feet from the floor and I place my feet shoulder width apart as he turns back around to face me.

He hacks a spit ball onto the floor, and I see blood in his saliva. Wow, I must have really done a number on him. "Stay still darling."

"Make me cowboy."

He runs at me again and I go to the left. His right foot comes around. I duck under. His left fist comes downwards and I go forwards close to him to confuse his range before he can execute smashing my head in. His fist stops halfway down and I realize too late that his right knee had been coming up right as I ran closer to him.

Oxygen was forced out of my stomach when his knee smashed against my abdomen. I bend over forwards and he hits me in my left side. I crumple to the ground, breathless. He comes over to me on both of his knees and he grabs my right leg right under the knee. He pulls it upwards, close to his face. "Gotcha," he says smiling, then looking down at me.

I struggle to make my lungs work again, forcing oxygen to go down my throat. He tricked me. I was gonna lose this.

He leans forwards to me and I see his blue eyes stare down at me. So blue. Like the ocean, or a cloudless sky.

"Sorry," his voice mutters, and I see his fist coming down at me at the speed of light.

His eyes never leave mine, and I see the corners of his eyes wrinkle towards his nose. Was he frowning? Blue it all I see until his fist crashes into my face, and a dull thought drags its way up into my fading mind.

_Dick?_

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><p><strong><em><em>I'm breaking this chapter into two parts, because it was too long, so that's why i only did half of what i said i was going to in last chapters UP NEXT.**

**SOOOO! I would really like it if someone, anyone, could draw the costumes i described in ths chapter for me :) i would love you forever! And becasue i have ZERO talent in drawing, i would think it was amazing if someone did it for me. I mean come on. Kid Flash with piercings? Artemis with tatoos? Zatanna with pink hair? Who wouldn't draw that? :)**

**Okay, till my next chap!**

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**

**~Missmusicluver**


	28. Chapter 28

**Firstly, a big thank you to all that reviewed! And to Faiths-light13 for doing the drawing from last chapter! They look amazing, and the link to see them is at the bottom of the page :)**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing that DC comics already owns.**

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><p><em>Dick.<em>

_His blue eyes…_

My eyes open to bright florescent lights above me. I squint my eyes to lessen the sudden pain in my head and I feel someone's hand touch my forehead. "…'ello?" I hear my own raspy voice ask the stranger.

"You hit your head pretty hard. I don't suggest getting up," a light female voice answers.

"She's the doc princess. I think she can figure that much out by herself," a second female voice says with unmistakable attitude.

"Zathura? Blaze?" I ask, looking upwards slightly at the two familiar voices.

Two faces swim into my vision and I see the upside down people staring back at me. "Morning sleeping beauty. Good to see Beater's smack down didn't mess up your brain too much," Blaze smirks.

I sit upwards, and my breath sticks in my throat when the world starts spinning. I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose with a couple of deep breaths. "No, just have a slight concussion. I should be better in a couple of minuets." I open my eyes slowly and I see Black Blaze standing closest to me with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Good. I didn't want to carry you out of here myself. Would have taken too damn long."

I smirk back at her. "Oh god help me if _you_ had to carry me. I wouldn't have made it past the front door."

A wet towel hits me in the face, only making me smirk wider. "Oh hardy har har Princess of Face Plants. At least I forfeited my match to you instead of getting completely squashed to the mat like Beater did to you."

Zathura looks between me and Black Blaze curiously. "You forfeited the match to her?"

I wipe my face with the wet towel and the cool moisture makes my headache calm down a touch. "She had to. I didn't give her a choice."

A voice in the back of my mind makes me stare at Zathura. She said she had been dating Beater. She had been dating Dick. Robin. She must have known who he was. I watch her every movement closely. She can't be here with her ex-boyfriend just to look for a couple of fights.

She's part of the Young Justice League.

"Why?" Zathura asks, even more intrigued, breaking my train of thought.

Blaze shrugged a shoulder nonchalantly. "I don't argue with my bosses."

"You work for her?" She's a Superhero who works with the League._ What is she doing here?_

I throw the wet towel at Zathura and it bounces of her forehead with precise accuracy. "Don't look so surprised Zee. I happen to be an excellent boss."

"Zee?" she questions, putting a hand on her hip and lifting an eyebrow. "Really?"

"What don't like your new nickname? I could always call you The-pink-haired-gothic-slut-with-an-attitude-from-hell."

She grins and rolls her purple contacted eyes. "It's fine. No one's called me Zee in a while. At least, not anyone I like."

I raise an eyebrow in return. "Beater called you Zee?" I question. _Well that's just one more thing that was now added to my list of surprising things. I can't believe Richard actually knocked me out._

She nods and Black Blaze puts her hands on her hips. "You're dating the loser who beat Butterfly up?"

"I was dating him. Not anymore."

"Oh good. I'd hate to break your boyfriend's pretty face and risk our everlasting friendship," she says with unmistakable sarcasm.

Zathura snorted. "Yea, it'd be a shame."

I stand up from the metal table I was lying on and Black Blaze helps me stay square on my feet. I sway for a moment before leaning slightly against Blaze's shoulder. "Remind me to give you a raise," I mutter.

Blaze smirks beside me. "Don't worry, I won't forget." Her hand comes up to her stomach for a moment before she drops it when she sees Zathura staring.

"Is it going to be a girl or boy? Do you even know yet?" I ask her.

"You're _pregnant_?" Zathura asks with wide eyes. "At a fight club?" her eyes narrow at me. "You're a horrible boss."

I raise my hands in surrender at her. "Hey don't give me that. I only just found out today as well."

She narrows her eyes at Black Blaze. "Then what the hell were you doing here today?"

"Trying to get some extra cash."

"What, Butterfly doesn't pay you enough?"

I shook my head. "She was only hired today Zee. I found out she was preggers in the cage."

"Oh."

"Yea, 'oh'," I say repeating her.

I nod at Black Blaze and she drops my arm away from her. I stare at Zathura and then at Blaze. "I need to get back. You are coming with me. We'll get our winnings, get a cab and then me and you need to do some serious reforms," I tell Blaze.

Zathura looks at the both of us. "You both are leaving?"

I nod for Blaze to lead the way out and she walks out of the locker room before me.

I turn to Zathura slowly. I stare her straight in her eyes and I lose my ever present grin. "Yea, I still have a company to run …_ sorceress_," I say. I take off my bandanna in front of her.

Zathura/Zatanna's eyes widen when she sees my face. "And yes, I know who you really are and who you work for." I step closer to her. "Did you really think I wouldn't recognize you? After I helped all of you get out when you accidentally blew up the land mine in Bolivia? I watched all of you leave while I went back to cover up your mistake."

I shake my head at her, and her eyes widen a little more with every word. "Whatever you're doing here, get it done and get it done fast. The people here don't like the Justice League or any of their affiliates. If they catch you, they will kill you."

I turn away from her and walk down towards the locker room door. "Oh and-"I say turning around to her at the doorway. "-tell Robin to call me. We have a lot to talk about after tonight's little performance."

"He won't call you, I hope you know that. He's not that kind of guy. He'll leave you in the dark in everything."

I look back at her. Did I sense a bit of jealousy? "You might have dated him Zee, but did you really know him?" I ask her, raising an eyebrow. "Do you even know his real name?"

She looks at me with narrowed eyes for a moment, before they turned soft and misty, like she was going to cry. "W-what do you-"

"Do you know his real name?" I ask again looking at her questioningly.

She shook her head slowly, with regret.

"Then, you really didn't know him. You can't know half of him and expect a relationship to last." I shook my head again. "Find someone who will give you all of them. Someone you can trust as much as they will trust you."

I kept her eyes locked on mine, and she swallowed silently. It was time for me to go. "See ya," I say, and then I'm out the door with my bandanna back over my lower face.

I walk with Black Blaze to pick up our money from our individual Cashers, and after collecting four hundred from the two men, I walk to the back hallways with Blaze by my side. I told her my company situation, and she was quiet afterwards. She seemed to be thinking over something. "So you just inherited two companies and now you need something to do with them?"

"Well, actually, I have an idea on what to do with them. With my idea, I would be able to keep the weapons, and it could get a lot of those fighters out of Super villains all too generously paying hands."

She looks over at me curiously. "You going to start working for the League?"

I shook my head. "No, not for the League."

"The government?"

"No."

"Shadows?"

I snort. "Hell no."

"Then who?"

We stop together right before the backdoor of the complex. I look down at her shorter frame. "Me. I work only for me."

I open the backdoor, but Black Blaze's hand catches my arm. "That sounds pretty damn lonely."

I stare out at the small sliver of outside air in front of me with an impassive face. "You get used to it after a while. Sooner than you would think, being alone becomes your only sane solitude in the world around you."

"So you're just planning to do this all by yourself?"

I look at her with the corner of my eye. "It's why I have you."

She releases my arm and a small smirk tugs at the corner of her mouth. "Three would be a bigger number against the world than just two."

I look at her without expression. "You have someone in mind?"

Her smirk turns into an evil looking smile. "Yea, and I think you'll love her."

"What's her name?"

"Depends on which person you're talking to. Cage fighter her, or the everyday her."

"She cage fights?"

"Among other things."

I narrow my eyes. "Like what?"

"Nothing too illegal. She's just had a rough childhood. She does what she needs to do to survive in the streets."

I put my hand to the bridge of my nose. "Tell me you're not talking about Catwoman."

Black Blaze bursts out laughing. "No. No, not Catwoman. That would be… interesting, but no. I'm talking about_ her_." She points behind me, and I turn in her pointing finger's direction.

Behind me, a woman my height, maybe a half inch shorter, walks down the empty hallway with hands in her pockets and blonde colored hair dropping in front of bright green eyes. She was wearing jeans, an overly large black shirt with bold white lettering across her chest that said "I DARE YOU" with black sneakers. She was out of costume in the arena.

"Is she stupid?" I ask. Letting her face get seen by everyone? Did she want to end up dead, or worse, anyone she's ever met dead?

The woman's head looks upwards, and I'm assaulted with some serious apple green eyes covered around with some kind of black material wrapped around the back of her head. Never mind, she had a mask on. Hadn't seen that. She had a small button nose, softly curved chin, and big lips. A young face, younger than I had originally thought she was. She couldn't be but three years older than me. But on the corner of her jaw, a large purple bruise was starting to spread sideways and down her neck.

The mark of a fighter, that was for sure.

"Black Blaze," the woman said, a cold nod in greeting to my now employee.

"Double Shadow," Blaze nods back to her.

The young woman continues on to walk down the hallway, until she passes me and Blaze. My eyes follow her, and I turn around when she's gone a couple feet away from me.

"You know, that bruise looks bad. You might want a doctor to look at that," I call out to her, making her stop in her tracks.

"I'll do that when I get a doctor," she says turning back around, her hands in fists. She thinks I'm antagonizing her…

"What no medical insurance?" I ask raising an eyebrow even though I know damn well she doesn't.

She turns her back on me. "Piss off," she says in a low snarl.

"I'm sorry, what? I didn't catch that last thing," I say walking after her. Blaze watches me and gives me a look that clearly says "What the hell are you doing?" I shrug a shoulder at her expression and mouth slowly to her, "Watch."

Double Shadow swings around and stops in the middle of the hallway towards me. Her hands are in fists, and her eyes are already narrowed in suspicion. "I said PISS OFF," she says yelling the last two words at me.

I burp loudly, making my stomach burn and my throat vibrate.

She stays completely still, but her eyes widen for a second, looking somewhere between shock and anger. Good, she had no idea how to deal with me. "I'm sorry," I say blowing air through my cheeks, attempting to blow the burp away. "I didn't feel like peeing right now. Was burping acceptable?"

Her eyes narrowed again. "Do whatever you want. I'm out."

"You could if you wanted."

This makes her turn around again. "What?"

"You could get out. Out of all of this. The cages, the no money, the no medical back up. You could do it if you wanted."

She turned her head away, but her eyes remained glued to me. Ah, those were the right words. "What are you talking about?"

"My name is Red Butterfly. You may have heard of me, you may not have. I used to fight in these cages. And I used to be damn good." I keep my eyes on her's unblinking. To make sure she knows I'm not lying. "Almost nine months ago, I left. I'm back, but I didn't have to. I have a company, and Blaze here is one of my first employee's. She left the cages and I want to extend the same invitation to you. She has a solid paycheck every month, medical coverage, and job security. If you want, you can have it too. You don't have to stay in the cages."

Double Shadow stands still, a block of stone, but I can practically see the cogs turning in her head. I was close, I could feel it. If Blaze trusted her, I could see how much she's worth as well. You never know, she could end up being-

"Is this a trick?" she asks, interrupting my mind.

I look back at her in the eyes. "No, it's not. I'm very serious about this. I know you want out. I'm giving you a way out of it all." I raise my eyebrows. "Unless, you want to stay in the cages. Because if that's the case, I can just go and-"

"No!" she yells in interruption. "No, I don't want to stay. I just don't…" She meets my eye and her face of steel expression is back in place. It was impressive, I would agree, to have such cold and hardened features, but I wasn't that impressed. I had met Batman. Now he still scared the shiz out of me with his blank expressions.

"You just don't want to give up your only option of income on a small chance that some new-comer could give you a better chance," I finish for her quietly.

She hesitates, then nods. "You have to understand, I want to leave, but if you end up being something that only lasts for a year, I'll only end up where I started. But this time, Roulette might not let me come back."

I nod. "No, believe me, I understand more than anyone." I look back at Blaze, then back at her. "The thing is though, I can give you things Roulette can't and won't. I'm giving you a sort of fair trade. You need a job, I need an employee with your specialty. In actuality, it's an equal trade."

"My specialty?"

"You're fighting background."

"What about it?"

"You would need it," I state simply. "And actually… what makes you so great that Blaze would recommend you?"

Blaze's eyes leave mine and find Blaze's behind me. "I can duplicate myself."

"Duplicate?"

"Duplicate," she says in a nod, meeting my eyes again.

"How so?" I ask leaning a bit backwards.

She smirks. "Like this." With a blink, I think I'm seeing doubles. There were two of them. Like literally, two blonde haired, green eyed young women with the same t-shirts and jeans. "And this," both Double Shadows say at the same time. Suddenly, both young women are surrounded by two more, and I'm looking at six young women.

"Wow," I say, surprised. I step forwards and touch the closest one's blonde hair. Yep, she was real, not just some image like Mirror master could make. "Can you move them all individually?"

All of them smile together. "I could, but it takes concentration."

I look at all of them. "So you're also a great multitasker." They grin at me. "How many can you sustain?"

"About twenty five."

My eyebrows rise. "Damn. No wonder Roulette likes you." Her grin doesn't grow, but she looks pleased none the less. The girls disappear, and the only one that's left is the real Double Shadows. I look at her suspiciously. "So I get the Double part of your name. But why Shadow?"

Now her grin grows. "Cause I'll rob you blind before you even see your own shadow."

The line sounded practiced. It kind of made me smile. "Yea? Well, no more stealing. You'll have enough from your new payment plan so you'll never have to steal again."

"You're not my boss."

I put a hand on my hip. "Aren't I? So then you don't want the job?"

She crosses her arms over her chest. "When do I start?"

I hide my smile. "Tomorrow. Both of you will get a down payment of 50,000 when you meet me at Gotham Airport."

"Airport?" Blaze asks.

I nod and start to walk back to the back door of the complex. Blaze and DS follow me, only a step behind. I watched form the corner of my eye, and I smile to myself. Yea, I made the right decision on both of them.

"Yep. Airport. Tomorrow, we take a trip to Bolivia."

"What?" DS asks shocked. "Wha'd you mean Bolivia?"

I look back at them before I open the complex's back doors and enter into a dark alleyway. "I mean exactly what I mean."

"Are we going to live there?" DS asks with a scrunched nose of distaste.

I roll my eyes and the back doors close behind DS and Blaze. "No. We're going to visit there."

"Was that sarcasm?" Blaze asks, sounding a bit worried.

"No."

"Was _that_ sarcasm?" DS asks.

I turn around to them. "We're not going to move there, I promise okay?"

Blaze suddenly looked a little less red tinted and DS didn't back the relieved smile at all. I rolled my eyes at them. "Come on. Do you guys have a place to crash for the night tonight that's actually safe?"

"I have a studio in Crime Alley," Double Shadow volunteered.

I give her an incredulous look. I shake my head at her. "Definitely not. You're moving out of there tonight."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "You can't rule all the decisions in my life just because you're my new-found boss."

I give her a very dry glance. "I'm not going to rule your life. I just don't want you to get shot and end up dead before I get you to work for me. You'll stay with me tonight, and we'll move you out tomorrow before we all leave.

She didn't argue, but she gave me a look that would have equaled a five year old sticking their tongue out at an adult. It made me smile to myself. "What about you Blaze? Where do you stay?"

DS smiled. "She's a level above me. Why do you think she knows me?"

I turn around and look at them both. "You guys both live in Crime Alley?" They nod. "Do you live alone?" Nod. "Do you have boyfriends hat ever stay over?" Shake. "Good God, how did you guys not get raped there? Or broke into at least four times?"

"I have bars on my window," Blaze answered nonchalantly.

"And I'm a fighter in the cages. Boy's run when they see me, not try to rape me," DS said shrugging a shoulder.

I turn back around and shake my head to myself before continuing on to walk. "You guys are both staying at my house."

They didn't skip a beat. "Okay, where do you live?" Blaze asks, coming around to walk by my side.

"Rhode Island."

Blaze looks around at me. "Rhode Island?" she asks. "That's like a three or four hour drive from here. A cab would be a small fortune."

"Good thing we're not taking a cab." I made it to a payphone down the long deserted street and picked up the rusted yellow phone cautiously as if it held aids just on the very surface. "We're gonna get my mom to take us."

Blaze looked at with widening eyes and DS kept her face impassive. "You're mom lets you go to a fight club? I thought…"

I looked up at her after dialing the number. "Oh, my real mom is dead," I answer just as nonchalantly as them when I had asked them where they lived. "And I was emancipated, but you know apparently when you own a company, you have to have a guardian until you turn eighteen. So…"

The ring tone answered. "Hello?" Dinah answered.

"Hi Dinah," I answer with a smile in my voice. "You legal ward needs your help."

"Is that Jezebelle?" I hear Green Arrow/Ollie ask in the background.

"Yes, she needs something-"

"Why don't you ask her why she was back at the cages and why she interrupted a League mission!" Oliver says back almost in a yell. "And why she beat Robin's face black and blu-"

"Hold on, let me just put her on speaker…" Dinah's voice says, almost exasperated.

"Oh no, you don't have to do th-"I say quickly, too slow for Dinah.

"You're on speaker phone now Jez," Dinah's voice says, suddenly sounding more distant.

"Oh joy," I say in immediate reaction.

"Don't you get sarcastic Jezebelle. What were you doing in the cages again? I thought you said you were-"

"Oliver?" I ask interrupting him.

"Y- What?" he says, his voice annoyingly loud.

"Shut up."

"…What?" he asked, his voice going up an octave.

"I said Shut Up and listen to me. Do you understand?" I ask, putting a hand on my hip. "First of all, I apologize Dinah, for leaving before …" I look over at Blaze and DS looking and listening intently over at me. "Actually, I'm going to need to see you to say sorry. I have two very eager listeners EAVESDROPPING on every word I say," I yell at Blaze and Double Shadow. They grin, not a drop sorry. "So can you come and see me Dinah? I'm out in the back of the club. Ro- ahhhh, I mean, Zathura should be able to tell you where it is.

"Zathura?" I hear someone else ask. Kid Flash?

"She's talking about me," I hear Zatanna say. "I said my name was Zathura before I knew she knew who I was."

"Oh. Why would you name yourself after such a B listed movi-"

"Kid! Just… shut it," Zatanna yells.

"Yea… um I think I'll leave it like this. Zee you tell her where I am. If you don't arrive in twenty minuets Dinah, I'll know you said no. It's okay, I would understand. I would just walk there."

"Where are you going?" Dinah asked.

"I'll see you," I say quickly, ignoring her question and hanging up. I turn to Blaze and Double Shadow. "Now we wait."

"Will she come?" Blaze asks.

I nod. "Without a doubt. She doesn't want me walking by myself, no matter how experienced a fighter I am."

"You're sure?" Double Shadow asked skeptically.

"I am 98.94445 percent sure."

Blaze and Double Shadow glance at each other, and I watch some sort of silent communication go on between them. A moment later, Blaze looks back at me. "So… you don't know."

"If you round up, I'm 99 percent sure!"

"That's not a hundred percent though," Double Shadow agrees.

"Oh whatever," I say, throwing myself down on my butt on the cold edge of the sidewalk. "If she's here in the next twenty minuets, she's here. If not, then we get a cab and or walk back."

"I vote for cab," Blaze muttered as she sat to my left on the sidewalk.

"Walking won't kill you," Double Shadow counters, sitting on my other side without looking at me or Blaze.

"It might. It would take three hours to _drive_ there. Think about how much time it would take if we _walked_ there," Blaze says back.

"I've walked farther. I lived. You will too."

I smile to myself. I was starting to like this girl more and more. "Just wait. She'll show."

"And what happens when we get to where ever we need to get in Rhode Island?" Blaze asks, looking over at me in question.

I put my elbows on my knees. "Then I contact a friend to send a plane from Bolivia to me. We get on the plane, we go to Bolivia. We set up the company from the ground up, you two become my left and right hands, and in about a month's time, we move the entire company to America. Get a couple of famous customers, and build a reputation." I shrug my shoulders. "Then, we make a shit ton of money, you buy some nice houses and cars, you retire early, yada yada yada."

"You take two complete strangers off the street cages to become two of the most important people in a brand new multimillion dollar company?" Double Shadow asks, her voice clearly showing her shock. "It's almost too good to be true."

I raise an eyebrow at her. "Oh, make no mistake. You will be tested while we're in Bolivia. To see if you can handle this job, do well at it and make me a profit. If not, you will still have a job, but it will not be such a high post." I look between her and Blaze who is now staring at me as well. "Make no mistake, I am also a business woman. If there is no profit from you being the best, you will not be on top. It's that simple."

"In other words, we better bring our A game to everything we do in Bolivia," DS sums up.

I nod. "Exactly."

"What exactly will our jobs entail?" Blaze says, catching my attention back to her.

Head lights of a car spin into view around the corner. I stand up. "We'll talk about it when we get back to my house," I answer, Blaze and Double Shadow standing up with me. The black four door stops in front of me and one tinted window rolls down. Dinah's blonde head and blue eyes look out at me with her hands resting on the wheel easily.

"Getting in?" she asks.

I put my hand on the door and pull, but the door remains locked. I look up to her and she looks back with raised eyebrows. Ah, so that's how it was going to be. "What do you want?" I ask.

She tips her head, and I can sense the oncoming attitude like a dog senses a storm. "How about an apology?"

"Fine, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For running away."

"And?"

"For going back to the club without telling you."

"'And?"

"And… ruining a mission."

"And?"

And for smacking the shiz out of you, you bleach blonde, crabby, prissy perfect, over protective- "And for getting myself in this situation."

Dinah stares at me and I have no choice but to look back at her in the eyes. She holds my eyes a moment longer than I was comfortable with, and I hear all the locks on her door open. She motions with her head for me to get in and I look back at Blaze and Double Shadow. "Come on." I turn back to the door, think better of it and look back at the two cage fighters. "And if you mention this ever again, to anyone, I will make your life a living hell." I stare at them, and they don't say anything back, my crap threat hanging in the air. I turn back to the car and get in, the other doors slamming shut behind me as Blaze and DS get in as well.

"Where to?" Dinah asks as seat belts are clicked on.

"My old apartment in Rhode Island," I say, my voice suddenly sounding old and tired.

Dinah looks over at me, but my eyes are out in the side window, my head resting in my hand. It was time to go home, time to dig up all those old memories of Miranda, of me leaving. Her face, her smell, her clothing, pictures, they would all still be there. Waiting for me to return.

"Are you-?" Dinah starts to ask.

"Tired? Yea. Can't wait to go home," I interrupt without looking over at her. From the corner of my eye, I see Dinah nod and look back at the road without another question.

The car moves forwards and I put in the radio. Not a word is passed between any of us the entire way to Rhode Island.

* * *

><p><strong>:D Finally, she going to stop running from everything. She's gonna be a big girl and do what's right.<strong>

**UP NEXT: Bolivia, meeting Karina, and seeing a Mister Dick Grayson :)**

**OH! BTW! I want to say thank you to Faith's-light13 for drawing those pictures for me from last chapter! If any of you guys want to see and comments on them, here's the link:**

**Superboy: faiths-light13. deviantart #/d59wz9s (TAke out the spaces)**

**Kid Flash: faiths-light13. deviantart #/d59x11o (Take out spaces)**

**Artemis: faiths-light13. deviantart #/d59x3m7 (Take out spaces)**

**Miss Martian: faiths-light13. deviantart #/d59x5ap (Take out spaces)**

**Robin: faiths-light13. deviantart #/d59yar4 (Take out spaces)**

**Zatanna: faiths-light13. deviantart #/d59ybr5 (Take out spaces)**

**Alright! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**

**~Missmusicluver**


	29. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer: I do not own any thing that DC already owns. **

* * *

><p>Three hours passed slowly in the car that drove to Rhode Island. The only noise emanated from the radio in the front, and everyone avoided breaking the nonspoken agreement of mutual silence while listening to the old 90's styled station. Eyes were averted from each other, and everyone seemed exceptionally interested in their personal view out of their windows. I could say the tension was thick, but it wasn't. No one spoke, but the silence wasn't uncomfortable. It was a car full of strangers, and as far as I was concerned, my still-healing-body needed a break of doing anything that required thinking of any form.<p>

My mind dozed, but my body stayed alert throughout the drive back to my hometown.

* * *

><p>The car lurches to a stop, and my dazed mind snaps back to reality faster than a rubber band. I automatically look to my right, and the familiar sight of the grey apartment building warms the inside of my hallow stomach. Home, was my immediate thought, but just as suddenly, a different part of my mind squashes the thought and reminds me of the mansion in South America. Home died when you changed your last name, and changed your life. Get used to it, I tell myself.<p>

A grimace sets my face and I push on the door to let me out. I push my weight against the door, but it doesn't move for me. I look down at the door to look for a problem, and I see the locks are missing from the top of the door. It was locked. My eyes look down at the missing lock on the door, and I look over to Dinah beside me. Her face is already set in a calm and diplomatic expression as I hear Blaze and DS trying to open their doors in vain.

My eyes narrow on Dinah. "What are you doing?" I ask.

Her eyes narrow back at me and her mouth thins in a grimace of her own. "Explain yourself," she orders firmly, putting her arm up on the car wheel and leaning back in her seat easily. Her eyes remain locked on mine, and her left hand is clenched into a fist. "Why were you at the cages and why the _Hell_ did you go against-" she glances back at Blaze and Double Shadow, "-Beater?"

I'm overly aware of DS and Blaze watching me. Their boss for barely four hours and they get to see me treated like a little kid. Frustration and anger burns in the pit of my stomach at the humility and unfairness of it. There went my whole air of professionalism, completely out the locked car window. "Open the door," I say back shortly.

"Explain." Her answer is shorter than mine, but her eyes tell me more than a lecture could. She was pissed.

"Just let me out."

"I won't ask you again Jezebelle," she says, her other fist clenching into a fist.

I lean against the door behind me and stare at Dinah. "I went to find a debt that needed paying. I found it and got two employees in the end."

Dinah's eyes glance back to Blaze and DS for a moment before coming back to me. "Employees for what?"

I can't help the rush of anger than comes out in my voice at my next sentence. "The company you took away from me," I snarl.

Dinah's jaw clenches together, and her lips get thinner. "You're going back to Bolivia." It wasn't a question.

"I have to."

She shakes her head, and her hands unclench. "No you don't."

I force back the urge to roll my eyes. "Yes I do. You and I both know that you can't run a company, so the responsibility falls back on-"

"You don't have to deal with this now. You can-"she interrupts me.

"Weren't you the one who told me to stop from running from things?" I interrupt her with rising anger. "Didn't you tell me not a week ago that I needed to start taking responsibility for the actions that I make? I thought you would be-"

"I wanted you to do this later on! After you've been properly-"

"The company doesn't have time to wait for me to be properly trained Dinah. We both know that." My voice was cold and steady, surprising even me. "I need to get things started again, before the company dies and everyone loses their jobs. I need to get back and fix things."

Dinah was silent. Whether she was at a loss for words, or just stunned, she became silent, and her face gave no emotion away to me. Her eyes glance back to the two young women behind us in the backseat and I see her teeth clench together again. Well, I could see how she felt about my new employees. She looks back at me. "How long will you be gone?"

My eyes widen in surprise. She was convinced, just like that? No argument? No long lecture? That seemed …almost too easy. She wouldn't give up on letting me go so easily before. I lean back against the door in suspicion. "A month, tops." My eyes narrow on her. "Why?"

She unlocks the door. "Be careful. You almost died twice there. I don't want you to come back in a body bag before I get to correct your stance," she says lightly, ignoring my last question completely.

I open the door subconsciously, giving myself a way out, but I stay firmly planted in the seat. My eyes don't move away from her. "You're giving up too easily. I don't like what that means."

I ghost of a smile reaches her lips. Her left hand digs in her pocket and throws me a silver object. I snatch it out of the air without looking away from her, and she doesn't look away either. I break away from her gaze and look down at the object in my hand. I blink in surprise. It was a silver key. They key to my apartment. I look back up at her and she nods to the apartment complex. "Our rich Businessman gave it a clean, but didn't touch it after you left."

My suspicion drains away from her. "He kept it for me?" I ask lost in shock.

She nods. "Right after you left, he thought you would want some place to come back to, so he just kept the bills up to task."

I feel my shoulders slump downwards and an exasperated sigh leaves my body. "Great," I say thinly. _Just one more thing that I owe him_. I get out of the car and lean back down to look at Dinah. Blaze and DS get out and stand silently in front of the apartment building, hands crossed over their chests like body guards. "How much money do I owe him for this?" I ask, meeting her eyes.

Dinah shrugs her shoulders. "You would have to ask him that."

I give her a very dry look. "Wonderful," I say turning away from her. "I'll call you when I get to Bolivia." I step away from the car. "See you." I close the door and turn to the apartment complex.

I hear the window roll down behind me, but I'm already leading Blaze and DS towards the side stair case at the base of the building to my room on the second floor. "Be safe!" Dinah yells out of the open window. The car then takes off down the dimly lit street and disappears around the next corner. I watch the car leave and a warm pit in my stomach seems to spread throughout my body. Her words ring in my ears and I don't stop the tug of a smile that threatens to split my face. She cared.

I shrug off the feeling and start up the stairs to the second floor. "Come on," I call out to Blaze and DS who start to follow me up. I get to the second story and pull out the silver key Dinah gave to me. I put it in the lock slowly and I square my shoulders. I'm okay, I can do this. The door swings open, and a burst of freezing, stale air hits my lungs the moment I take a step inwards. My eyes drink in the details of my old home, while Blaze and DS come in behind me. I was back.

The house was clean. That was the first thing I noticed. The items were dusted until they sparkled and they gave off a cold look in the in the dim light. The broken glass from when I smashed the picture frame in the front living room was still on the ground, the radio from when I sobbed my heart out on the floor was still resting on the living room floor, and even the couch looked the same when I left it. The only thing that looked different was how just how clean it all looked.

"Damn it's cold," Blaze shivers by the living room, interrupting my thoughts and bringing me back to reality.

"No one's lived here for the past eight months. If you want heat, you're gonna have to rebrake in the heater down the hall," I say back, walking deeper into my old home. I close the door behind me, and control the shivers that roll down my back at the burst of cold air that envelopes me.

Blaze looks to me, and then at the shelves to the left of her. They were filled with CD's and the pictures of me, Miranda, and all my old friends on the cheer team. Megan included. "You used to live here?" Blaze asks, keeping her back to me.

My eyes wander around to the rest of the living room, taking in every small detail. I nod, but don't say anything back. Blaze turns around to look at me and in her hand is a picture of my old cheer team, arms wrapped around each other with smiles plastered on our faces. "This is you?" she asks.

My eyes stay plastered to the photo for a moment longer before looking at Blaze. Things had been simple then. Get to the cages, get paid, get medicine, and then start over again. My life had a rhythm to it back then, but now it was starting to fill with gray lines, shades area's and dark shadows. The me in the picture Blaze was holding up seemed like a girl I didn't know, didn't really even remember. Someone from a dream.

I shake my head. "No. That was me," I say without emotion or passion. My hand reaches to the back of my neck for the bandana knot. Blaze's eyes follow my hand. "This, …this is me." I undo the knot with unblinking eyes and I feel cold air hit my face as the red bandana falls off, and hits the floor. Blaze's eyes widen, her hand loosens on the picture and it crashes to the ground. "You-" she says, her eyes widening even farther. "-you're…"

"What the hell is going on?" DS's voice comes from the hall, her footsteps getting closer to us. "What was that crash-"She walks into the room, takes a look at my face, and her eyes widen. "You're that girl whose face was all over town."

"-YOUNG!" Blaze yells out in complete shock. "YOU"RE YOUNG!"

I look over at Blaze. "I told you I'm a minor." I look to DS. "What you mean my face was all over town?"

"Yea, but I thought you were… I mean you couldn't really have been…"

"You had missing posters all across Gotham, I heard there were even pictures in Metropolis for her.. you.."

"What, did you think I was some thirty year old with a Snow White complex?" I ask to Blaze. She was still looking at me with wide eyes. DS was starting to look me up and down.

"The Red Butterfly, missing from the cages and then some kid from Rhode Island missing a little bit afterwards… I can't believe someone didn't pick up on it sooner."

My expression doesn't change at her words. "People go missing every day. Red Butterfly was never going to stay there forever." The heater kicked on. "Now your turn."

Blaze looked over from me to DS. "Yea… um-"

"If you want your money, I'm going to need a name to deliver it to," I remind her patiently.

The thought seemed to just have come to her. "Yea… right." Her eyes dart to DS, and I sigh.

"You both are going to be working together until my company can stand on its own feet. You're going to need to get past your identities. You're cage days are over, and in this job, you're going to have to show your face."

Blaze's expression changes to something of annoyance, and her red tinted skin bristles. Like, legitly moves. I watch as the tips of her fingers turn from the odd red tint to a deep, chocolate, brown. The changed skin tone travels up her arms, and I see it move up her legs as well. It covers her abdominal before covering her face. Her eyes open, and in front of me stands an African American woman with a smirk wide on her face. "Like me?" she asks, spinning in a small circle, her long black twirling with her.

"I'd like it better if a name came with it," I answer back.

She smirks a little wider. "Tianna. Tianna Brooks."

I nod and grin lightly at her. "Nice to meet you Tianna."

She winks. "Always been a pleasure I'm sure."

I don't even bother to roll my eyes. Instead, I look over to Double Shadow. "Name?" I ask, cautious.

Her hands cross over her chest, looking like a tight knot. "This wasn't part of the job."

I raise an eyebrow at her. "You don't even know what the job is yet. Besides," I say cutting her off before she can open her mouth. "I still need a name to add to the paycheck."

She grimaces. Opens her mouth, then closes it, looking determined, but also pissed off. "Mia," she spits.

"Mia… what?"

"Mia…" she says sounding reluctant. "Mia Sanders."

I narrow my eyes at her, before reaching my hand out to her. She looks down at it, then at Blaze as if asking if I had mental health issues. "What?" she asks.

"Your mask," I say motioning with my hand again. "Give it to me."

She took a step backwards automatically, her expression turning violent and scared like a trapped animal. "Not in this life time you-"

"Mia, I'm not going to hurt you." I raise my hands in surrender and meet her eyes in mine. "I won't. I know this is a long shot job, but you need to trust me. I need your identity to get your future job up to start."

Her jaw was clenched tightly shut. "No. I won't do it."

"You have to."

"No I don't."

"You do."

"I'm leaving."

"You don't really want to."

"I will."

"No, you won't. You want this to work."

"You don't know me."

"I don't have to. I know how you're feeling. I know that you're scared."

Her face set into a grimace. "I'm not scared."

My patience is thinning to dental floss. "Yes you are. You're scared this is a fluke, and you'll have no job after I get what I want. You're scared Roulette won't let you back in the cages because that's the only thing you know how to do well and you don't want to throw that opportunity away, but your also scared that one day you'll get too old or too hurt to continue to fight and you'll have no fallback plan to get you back up on your feet." I stare at her covered eyes relentlessly. "You are definitely scared."

DS's grimace remains on her face for a couple of moments, but I see her hands unclench beside her sides. Her face flushes a light red, and she swallows. This was it. Her hand rises to her black domino mask slowly, and her fingers brush the edge of the black material. "I keep my face hidden for a reason," she warns, her voice going soft.

"We all have our reasons; that's one thing you'll find we all have in common," I say back softly.

She doesn't reply, but her pointer finger hooks underneath the material and lifts it off her face. It slips through her finger and falls to the floor, without resistance. Her eyes are looking down at the floor, but in the next moment, she's looking up at both Blaze and I. Brilliant green eyes immediately meet mine, that were framed by long black eyelashes. Thin eyebrows with high cheek bones mixed with her pixie short blonde hair made my eyes widen. _And she lived in the worst crime street in America? As a fighter?_

"What the hell DS! You could have been a model!" Blaze breaks the silence with her loud yell.

"And I thought you were wearing the mask to hide a bad scar of something," I comment lightly as well. _How did she live untouched in Crime Alley?_

A rueful smirk crosses her face. "No, but living in Gotham teaches you to hide what others want."

Blaze snorts sarcastically, but I don't laugh at her comment. Instead I take a note of it and keep it tucked away for future memory.

I shake my head and sigh. Tianna and Mia look over to me. "You okay boss lady?" Blaze asks.

I wave a hand in dismissal. "Fine, just tired."

Mia's smirks again. "After the beating you took? I'm surprised you've been standing up this tall for this long."

Blaze laughs another snort, this time of amusement. I don't find it very funny. "Don't worry, she's probably already healed herself with those healing hands of hers," Blaze shrugs in disregard.

This catches Mia's attention. "Healing hands?" she asks.

Blaze smiles. "You didn't think _the_ Red Butterfly could just get in the cages without having superpowers did you?"

I roll my eyes. "There not superpowers."

Mia seems to hear me. "What do you mean?" she asks Tianna.

Tianna continues on lightly. "You know Roulette won't let non-superpowered fighters into the meta human fight cages. She only lets people with powers in. Even if their powers aren't meant for the offense."

Mia nods in agreement. "Yea. But what did you mean by 'healing-"

"I'm getting there," Tianna waves a hand away. "Anyways, Almost eight months ago, the first time me and… what did you say was your name again?" she turns to me.

I cross my hands over my chest. "Jezebelle."

She smiles. "Right. Well when me and Jezebelle first met, it was in the cages. I had been in for about five months and she had been there for… I don't even _know_ how long. She had been there a while. I was used to all of the other fighters ducking and swerving away from my fire, but this little bug just came at me!" she shook her head in wonder.

"Never had seen anyone else take that strategy towards me before." She shook her head, her eyes staring off like she was reliving the fight. "We went at each other, and I lost my patience. I was too used to people giving up or getting burned after the first punch. Five minutes later, I had melted the metal cage. Liquid iron was raining from the roof and I had burned myself just… everywhere," she motioned with her hands around her upper body. "I blacked out somewhere during everything and Jezebelle pulled me out of my own death trap." She shook her head again. But this time she grimaced at the memory.

"I went to the blackness in pain, but I came out of the blackness totally fine. When I opened my eyes, the Red Butterfly was standing over me like nothing had happened and my skin was completely healed. It was really weird." She gave me an annoyed look but I didn't do anything in return. "Anyways, later on I figured out she must have healed me because the cages knew she didn't fight with her powers, she must have had a defensive power instead. Healing would answer than and it would explain how I came out alive."

Mia nodded. "Yea, I had heard she didn't use powers in the cages. The crowds loved her for it. Made it look like normal people could take down super powered people."

Mia and Tianna turn to me at the same time. Their expression suggested that they wanted me to comment. I didn't feel so talkative. "I'm going to contact the flight attendant to get the captain to pick us up tomorrow. You'll both be sleeping in the last room down the hallway. The bathroom is the first door. I'll be in the second door down. Good night." I turned on my heel, picked up the house phone near the couch and walk down the hallway to my sisters' room without a word.

The door closes behind me with a defined 'SLAM' and I dial a number into the phone before I let myself fall into a thousand different memories that accompany me in this room. The room of a dead sister whose love haunted me every day in the turns of a new life I was trying to morph into my own.

A voice answered on the other side of the line, and I force my feelings into the back of my head. The present was here; the past was behind me. "Buenas noches Karina, es bueno escuchar tu voz de nuevo." _Good evening Karina, it's good to hear your voice again._

"Jezebelle?"

* * *

><p>Two and a half days later, I sit in Andres Alarico's study in his old wooden desk with Karina, Blaze, and DS standing in front of me looking in attention. Both fighters wore spandex shorts with thin tank tops covering black sports bras. Their muscled arms were folded behind their backs in rigid tension, and they stood with both legs apart, ready for what came next. Karina stood to their side with an ipad in her arms, new glasses rested on the bridge on her nose while staring down at me with grim determination. "Mistress?" she asks.<p>

I stare down at the stacks of paper on the desk before returning my gaze to the three employees standing in front of me. "Sir will show you the methods of disarming I want done. The permits from Gotham and Metropolis will be here in a week and the criminal background check from Washington should be done in two. I want you to be licensed to shoot a gun by the time the results from Washington come in. _Not,_" I say intentionally loud to make my emphasis a point. "-that you're going to need to know how to. It's just procedure. I don't expect you to ever touch your gun, is that understood?" I make sure both Blaze and DS both nod in agreement before moving on. "Sir will be able to show you what you need to do and who to see," I tell Blaze and DS who nod automatically again. "Compile a list of possible persons of interest you think would do well in the program you're about to put yourself through as well."

I turn to Karina. "Karina make sure the lot in Central City is closed by next Monday and the one in Southern Gotham by next Tuesday. I want construction to start the following day. Get the ACCONIA construction company; we'll split a deal for a two year guard for the short warning." Karina immediately begins to type on her ipad. "And get Ron Radziner for the architecture of the outside of the building. Afterwards contact the US Green Building Council for our predicament in the Central City base that we're planning and get Bruce Wayne on the phone by ten tonight. We have some things to discuss." Karina nods again, frantically typing on her ipad. "And we need to start going thorough background checks on everyone here. Set up a deadline for every worker on the house grounds, and I want them checked through by next week. Sir should know where-" I cut myself off and look around the room.

"Where is Sir?" I ask looking over at Blaze and DS. After their first meeting of Sir, their respect of the man had jumped past the moon. When I had instructed them the night after we landed that he would be training them individually, they each had smirked so fully that I thought the lower half of their faces would fall off from the strain.

Blaze shrugs nonchalantly and DS shakes her head. I suppress the urge to sigh. I really needed him to be here right now. "Karina-"

"No need to send an army after me Mistress, I am here," a deep voice resonated through the study walls.

I look behind the three employees and notice the tall, dark haired man walk into Andres's- _my_ study. I smile in welcome. "Sir, I was wondering where you were."

He doesn't smile, but he nods and comes to a standstill beside Karina. "I'm here Jezebelle," he states, ready to move on.

Blaze and DS's eyes glance over at Karina worried for Sir, but Karina keeps looking forwards without comment. Ever since my landing, no one called me by name on the house grounds now. It was either 'Boss', 'Boss Lady' in Blaze's case or 'Mistress' by the other attendants in the house. Karina had cracked down on everyone who had called me by anything else, and by the end of the two days, I was never called 'Jezebelle' anymore. Except by Sir, who seemed to not care what other people did around him. He called me out in the room of people by my first name, and deep down, I was relieved. He was the one person who didn't see me as changed. He still saw me as his student, still as a teenager who needed guiding in the right direction. His words weren't harsh when he spoke to me, but thy weighed heavily in my mind whenever he suggested something to me.

I nod to him. "Good. Let's move on then. Sir, Blaze and DS will train with you over the next three weeks. Well, DS will. Before we start really getting ahead of everything else, you need to know Sir that Blaze is pregnant. She will participate, but i know how hard you push. Don't overdo it while she's still carrying around another life in her."

Andres stares over to Blaze and Blaze kept her face downwards. Her hands were over her stomach lightly and Andres nods, his face blank. "Until the child is born then."

I nod back. "will that be enough for our opening presentation by the end of April?"

He nods again. "Afterwards-" he says, meeting my eyes fiercely.

"You can go after him. I don't want him dead Sir. I don't want you to end up in prison." Blaze and DS look at each other confused, but Karina's expression becomes pinched and angry. One man was on all three of our minds, but I kept my voice steady no matter how much I wanted him face down in an abandoned lake. An abandoned lake filled with toxic water… on fire. With electric eels.

"How would you want to find Luther?" he asks, his face impassive.

"Scared," I answer honestly. "I want him too scared to ever touch anyone connected to me ever again." My eyes look off at nothing, but my hands clench into fists. "I want him to never look me in the eyes again."

I don't see Sir's expression, but Karina speaks up. "Gambling with Lex Luther can be dangerous."

My eyes snap to her. "I'm not gambling Karina."

She doesn't look away. "He has ruined companies and people alike for the sake of his pride and power."

My eyes narrow dangerously. "He killed Andres."

And that was the end of the conversation. Karina's face drained of color, and her knuckles went white on the ipad. Her jaw clenched together tightly, and Sir was no different form her. "Just scare him," Sir answers back in agreement, but not saying anything more. "Right."

I nod. "You may all leave. I have…" I look down at the stacks and stacks of paper in front of me. "…a lot to do tonight. Get some sleep, the real work starts tomorrow."

They all look down at me, and then one by one they leave with only Karina staying behind. I give her a dry look. "You should get some sleep, tomorrows going to be hell."

She smiles lightly. "I have a feeling it won't just be tomorrow that will be difficult."

I grin back at her with the corners of my mouth. "No, you're right, it won't be. That much more reason for you to get sleep."

Her smile is still visible and she nods at me. "Of course. I'll have Mr. Wayne on the phone with you before I retire for the night."

I nod back. "I'll be…" I look at the stack again and hold down a flinch. "…just doing this."

Her smile turns into a smirk. "Si Amante." _Yes Mistress. _She taps on her ipad as she walks away, her mind already somewhere else.

I give my signature at the bottom of the page, and before the door closes I yell out, "Oh and contact Dinah won't you? Being a minor for the company in Bolivia is fine but for America it needs the legal guardian's signature as well. Half of these documents can't be signed without her."

"Si Amante," she says calmly back. I go back to the documents in front of me and separate the sheets that need Dinah's signature as well as mine and the ones that only needed mine. Ten minuets later, the office phone rings and I pick it up to hear Karina's voice on the other end. "Mistress Alarico, Bruce Wayne on the line for you."

"Thank you Karina, I'll take it in here," I say back calmly.

"Si Amante."

I press the second line and lean back in my chair. "Mr. Wayne?"

* * *

><p>The next afternoon shone bright in the study office I sat in by myself. "Looks a little depressing if I say so myself." I look up at the new voice in the study and my eyes rest on a raven haired teenager with blue eyes wearing a small smirk on his lips.<p>

"Dick," I say, anger rising in my stomach from our last meeting.

He put a hand over his heart dramatically while walking deeper into the study. "You wound me."

I shrug lightly, sarcasm entering my voice. "Fine then, would you like to be called Richard or Ass-hat?"

"Ass-hat?" he asked, stopping in front of my desk.

I look up at him. "Richard it is."

He rolls his shoulders backwards. "You could just say it's good to see me."

"Or you could get the hell out."

He loses his smirk and sits down in one of the two empty chairs in front of the desk. "You're angry."

"Very perceptive. Can you catch on to what I want you to do now?" I ask looking down at the documents on the ground, and ignoring him as a whole.

Silence reined the room for a good five minuets, and counted down the moment he would get uncomfortable and leave. More minutes passed and I signed seven different documents on the table before me. My mind moved to the price of stainless steel over each wall I would need in the locker rooms, shooting range and practice arena. The gun permits should have come in by now as well... I would have to call Karina about the expiration dates on the -

"The Fourier Series is actually one of the many equations named in honor of Joseph Fourier based on his important contributions to the study of trigonometric series."

My eyebrows come together and I look up, totally lost as to what he just said. "What?"

His smirk comes back. "Got you to look at me."

My eyes narrow at him. "Funny. You're real funny. Now if you excuse me – "

"You can't still be mad about what happened in the cages," he interrupts putting his elbows on his knees.

I raise an eyebrow sarcastically. "Oh can't I?"

"It was a league mission and you were in the way. I couldn't just tell you –"

"'in the way'," I quote him with a raised eyebrow. Anger refills my veins.

Shock flickers across his face, "N-No! That's not what I meant, you know that!"

I put my elbows down on the desk. "Don't I?" I ask him. I tip my head at him, anger making my neck hot and my hands clench. "Did you know that I thought Bruce was beating you?"

Shock openly crosses his face and remains there as he processes what I said. "W_-What?"_

"After _you_ fell off the horse, _I_ healed you. Do you remember that?" I ask him. His mouth opens, but I see his head nod forwards slowly. "You couldn't move and you were bleeding. I knew you wouldn't make it back all the way to the house, so I put my hands on your stomach and I made your injuries close themselves," I say. "I put your bones back inside your skin, made your muscles regrow, and made your blood cells reproduce faster than humanly possible to make the injury clot before regrowing your skin over your elbow."

Dick was watching my face as I spoke, and I was looking closely at his expression in turn. "But I noticed something that was … off." Dick's eyes moved slightly, but it was too quick for me to really see what was behind the meaning. "There were lines in your bones, scars of old breaks and bruises that damaged your arm. There was so many of them Richard, I almost lost count." He stared in my eyes and all trace of amusement was gone from his face.

"You thought Bruce had caused all those breaks." It wasn't a question.

"What was I supposed to think Richard? I didn't know you were Robin at that time. I thought you were being abused, and for the next couple of days, I _hated_ Bruce." Dick's expression didn't change when I called him out to be Robin, but it did change when I told him of Bruce. His eyes widened and his mouth opened without words coming out. I look away. "And then a couple of days later, I find out that Bruce made my sister a tombstone when I ran away from the pain. He had taken care of the house I had left behind. He had _cared_."

I look back at him. "_Then_ I find out that Bruce Wayne really is Batman, you are really Robin, and Black Canary's name in _Dinah_." I shake my head. "I realize that you weren't getting beat by Bruce, Gotham's criminals were doing for him. And just when I thought the deal couldn't get any sweeter. I see you in the cages. And I remember what happened when you picked me up off the forest floor, brought me back to Andres. Watching as I screamed for my little sister, seeing me at my weakest points, at my highest… And I realize, you've been watching and knowing who I was this _entire _time while I sat in the background wondering if I was piecing my life back together right."

My stare had turned into a glare at some point in this conversation and Dick was watching me silently, evaluating me, in that piercing look I had seen Batman/Bruce use on me in the hospital. "So you tell me, _Robin_ if I really have a reason to be mad at you." We stare at other, not letting the other look away first.

"I'm sorry," Dick breaks the silence.

I hold his eyes a moment longer before looking away to the study windows. I want to hang on to this anger and hit him with it. To make him feel how humiliating it is to not know the other side of a one way mirror. I wanted to hate him for it, but when I see his face, my anger crumbles like an old brick wall. He looked hurt, and sad like this had happened before. Like he had been _hated_ before and he was okay with it now. Like he was getting _used_ to it. It makes a pit in my stomach tighten, and I look back at his blue eyes. "Don't be. You probably have a reason for keeping your face hidden. I just got the blunt mix of your secret identity and hero identity.

Dick smiles for a second, and then sighs like it's a physical weight. "There's probably something you should know too while we're at this."

I raise my eyebrows. "Oh, and what's that?" _What else could you possibly be able to drop on me? You're also a Russian secret agent for the USSR? You're secretly a time traveling wizard from another dimension? You know all the numbers of pie? You know who my soul mate is?_

"It's me," he admits, in a cautious smile.

My smile drops from my face. "What?" _Did he just hear what I said in my head? Can he hear what I'm saying right now? Does he know – _

"The stalkers that were following after you country after country. It was at my request. Well, mine, Dinah's and Bruce's. We wanted to keep an eye on you after you left so that you didn't become well… a threat, but sometimes you went into a country that had no technology, so we had to send in photographers. They were supposed to make sure they weren't seen, but you found them, and then after that, you went looking for them. It was really…." He looked at me as if waiting for judgment.

I smirk. _Oh good. He's not talking about what I was thinking…_ A sigh of relief escapes me and Dick looks up surprised. I roll my eyes and think quickly. "I-I'm just glad it's the Justice League that was looking after me instead of Roulette or … well someone else."

He nods, catching on to what I was thinking. "Well I don't think Roulette would go as far as hunting you down for leaving her fights, well, unless you took something from her." He looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

I answer back with looking him up and down comically. "You're one to talk _Beater_."

He rolls his eyes and stands up. "Okay, well, it looks like I'm forgiven. Time for me to go take a look around. Last time I didn't get to snoop around much."

I smirk. "Yea right." Dick looks back at me amused, and I smile lightly. "Why don't you sit back down and tell me why Bruce or Dinah sent you."

Dick's smile slides off his face and he sighs. He sits down back in the chair and puts a foot up on his leg. "Actually, Dinah's with me." I look up from the most recent document in my hands and blink in surprise.

"Oh, that's right. I asked her to come last night," I say musing back to last night. "Where is she?"

Dick tossed his head to the door. "Sleeping more than likely."

"Really?" I look back down at the paper and sign my name at the signature line in a flourish. It was amazing how good you got at doing your personal signature after signing hundreds of company papers.

"Yea, she had a late night at the league. She told me to tell you she'll talk to you tomorrow morning."

I nod and move on to the next paper. "And you? Why are you here?"

"Dinah says she needs more than one pair of eyes to look after you." I didn't have to look at his face to know he was grinning. Little ass.

I snort unlady-like. "I'm sure she did." After skimming the paragraph, I sign the bottom quickly and place it in a growing stack of signed papers. "And you had no problem with this?"

I look up to see Dick shrug his shoulders. "Not really. The League doesn't always need me. It gave me time to get away from everything."

"Stressful?" I ask lightly, looking back down.

"No, just…"

I look back up and sign the paper in front of me without thinking. "Just what? If it's not stressful, why are you glad to get away?"

He looks out at the study windows. "Nothing. Just tense there."

I nod and sigh in agreement. I smile. "Ex-girlfriend trouble?"

His eyes snap back to me. "Wha –"

My smile turns into a slick smirk. "I talked to Zatanna in the girl's locker room."

His confused face turns into knowing. "Ahhh, well that explains why she was trying to bite my head off."

I can't help but smirk wider. "What, the ex's not cooperating?"

He rolls his eyes. "All of the ex's weren't really cooperating that night."

I raise both my eyebrows in interest. "Ooo, who else is in the dumps right now? Tell me all of the dirty gossip Grayson."

Dick grins at my antics and leans back in his chair. "Well you know Megan and Conner called it quits right?"

I drop my pen on the desk. "What?" I ask shocked. "But they were… they were like soul mates. I thought they were gonna get married."

Dick shook his head lightly and shrugs. "For a while, I did too. About five months after you left, they started having issues. A month later, they called it all off. Ever since then… the teams have been kind of…"

I shrug a shoulder at this. "That's why dating in the team is bad."

Dick groaned, and I look up surprised. "You sound like Batman."

I grin. "Great minds thing alike."

He looks at me blankly. "Well I can understand Bruce, but I'm not quite sure about –"

I crumple up a piece of access paper and throw it at Grayson's head. He easily leans backwards and it flies past his head. He laughs as it sails past his eyes and his smile makes the pit of my stomach warm in the very middle. "Nice try Jez, but you're gonna have to do a lot better than that."

I crush the feeling in the pit of my stomach with a pinch to my thigh, and shake myself from the insane stupor I must have put myself in. I look down at my papers again. "It's Miss Alarico to you Grayson."

I hear the grin in his voice. "Yes Miss Alarico."

I sign my name again at the bottom of the next paper. "Good." I glance up at his expression, and I see his face already looking down at me in expectation. I force myself not to swallow at the nervous butterflies suddenly erupting in my belly. His eyes… Sanity slams down in my mind, and I look away from him. "So Grayson tell me, who dumped who? Megan on Conner?"

I didn't see Dick's movement, but I heard him move in his chair. "Actually it was the other way around. Conner let Megan go."

My eyebrows raise. "Really? I would have thought it was the other way around."

"You weren't the only one."

I nod. "How's she taking it?"

"Like any other girl I would guess. Talking mostly to Artemis and Zatanna."

I look up at him, steeling my insides incase they decided to backstab me again. His eyes meet mine, and I make myself look at his eyebrows. "And Conner?"

His eyebrows come together. "Why do you care?"

"I knew both of them Grayson, not just Megan. I care about how Conner feels too." His eyebrows were perfectly shaped, like they were meant to frame his eyes. Kind of perfect, how did he get such good eyebrows like a –

"He's doing better. He really was thankful that he got away from Megan for a couple of days."

I nod and look down at my papers again. _Just focus on your work Jezebelle. Focus._ "That's good. Where did he escape to?"

Dick's silent for a moment, and it brings my head up to look at him. _Oh good God._ "Well, actually, he came with."

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the delay in updates folks. School started back up and it's been a little hectic. Unfortunately, it's probably going to get more hectic because I'm trying out for the school play 'Curious Savage' tomorrow. But don't worry! I will never give up on this story!<strong>

**Right, so some Robelle fluff in this chapter, because I need to now build their relationship. Was it cute enough for you? Or should i add some more stuff?**

**UP NEXT: Man oh man, some of you might hate me for what I'm about to do. **

**~Missmusicluver**

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30! I can not believe that this has gotten so far! Thank You guys so much!**

**... Don't hate me for this...**

* * *

><p>"He's doing better. He really was thankful that he got away from Megan for a couple of days."<p>

I nod and look down at my papers again_. Just focus on your work Jezebelle. Focus._ "That's good. Where did he escape to?"

Dick's silent for a moment, and it brings my head up to look at him. _Oh good God._ "Well, actually he came with."

Later that evening I sit at the desk by myself and watch silently as the sun slips behind the study's window edge. I tap the point of my pen against the paper in front of me before sighing loudly. _If I look at one more paper that needs my damn signature, I swear to God…_

A soft knock vibrates through the room from the closed study door. I look up from the paper quickly, rearrange my hair and fix my face to look indifferent. "Come in," I call.

The study door opens slowly and a very tall raven haired young man steps into the study cautiously. Conner Kent's eyes sweep through the room in dull awe before his eyes land on me. He walks in with more confidence and makes his way to my desk.

"Yes?" I ask leaning back in my chair, secretly relieved I had a distraction.

He stops in front of the desk and tucks both hands into blue jeans. He looks down at me expressionlessly. "Karina told me to come and get you for dinner."

I glance at the phone pointedly. "She could have called."

He shrugs. "She mentioned if you should refuse to eat I would throw you over my shoulder and carry you downstairs."

I don't let the shocked amusement enter my face. "Interesting."

He shrugs again. "I was hoping you wouldn't make me go that far."

I nod. "I'll be out in a second Kent." I look down at the demon permit of gun usage in a nongovernment building in front of me and sign the bottom of the page without reading the last paragraph. I look back up and see Conner hasn't moved. "Kent?"

He sits down in one of chairs with his hands still in his pockets. "She might also have mentioned to not let you push me out until you sat in the dining room with your dinner in your face."

I sigh. _Well no more signatures today._ Unsurprisingly, a small smile splits my face, and Conner looks at me with a measured expression. I ignore his look and stand up. My hands stretch the cramps out and my legs groan at the sudden action after several hours in the same position. I walk around the desk and I nod to Conner at the door. "Coming Kent?"

"My name's Conner," he says trailing behind me.

I glance behind me at him. "I know."

We walk out of the study and into the hallway. He walks beside me, stride matching my own despite his longer legs. "Then why don't you ever call me by it?"

My eyes look up to him for a moment before looking down the hallway again. "I never got to know you. You were always just…"

"Megan's boyfriend," Conner finishes.

"So when people told me about you, your last name stuck. It was always Kent with you."

He nods. "That makes sense." He looks out at the passing windows. "At least I know you don't hate me."

"Hate?" I ask shocked and looking up at him before I can stop myself. _So much for that calm exterior you got there sugar._ "I don't hate you."

He looks down at me, a dim light of shock coming over his own passive face. "Y- You don't?"

My eyebrows come together. "_No_, why would I? I always thought you were really cu-" My jaw snaps shut, and heat rises from my neck straight to my cheeks and forehead. _What the… Did I really just – Did I… How could I just… oh good God. _I nearly choke when I try to swallow. "S-Sorry. That was uncalled for. I just… I'm sorry. I don't hate. You. I mean I- ….I- I don't hate you that is." Conner was looking down at me, walking straight without looking forwards once. His eyes were glued to my face, and his mouth was open a little with eyes a little wider than normal.

I jerk my head to the front and stare straight forwards like a magnet at the empty air in front of me. I feel Conner's gaze still on my face. _Ahhh… _heat hammers my face relentlessly. _I just pretty much confessed at my high school crush on him. What the … what am I… ahhh jesus…_

"You know, I never noticed," Conner says, saving me from my own thoughts.

More heat rushes across my face and I'm tempted to just turn back and bury myself under paperwork. "Yea well, you were pretty busy loving on Megan at that time."

"Yea…" his head turns to the front and we turn a corner into the next hallway. Heat begins to drain away from my face. "Not anymore though."

I can't help but glance up at him from between my eyelashes. "Yea, I heard about that. You doin okay?"

His shoulders rise and fall in a helpless motion. "Yea, I'm fine I...I guess."

"Must be pretty hard working together and feeling that way."

Conner doesn't look at me, thankfully, but stares ahead his expression blank. "At some times it is. Others…"

"You want her back?"

Conner puts his hands in his pockets. "Yes and No."

"You miss her?"

"Yes… and no."

I look up at him, and he glances back at me calmly. "Are you going to ask her back out?"

He loses eye contact. "No."

I nod, understanding in a sense of what he must be feeling. "At least you're sure about that."

"Not much of a blessing," Conner slips out.

His eyes seems to grow colder, and for the first time, I notice Conner's eyes are blue. Not the light blue of the sky like Dick's eyes, but a deep blue like the ocean. The best word to describe the color would have been cerulean. Cerulean blue eyes. Such a pretty-

I mentally slap myself. _Focus!_ I put my hands behind my back. "Actually, for the rest of the girls on the planet it definitely is."

"Huh?" he asks, glancing at me as we step onto the main staircase to the dining room.

I smile at him warmly, and his eyes stay glued to my face. "Now that you're open on the market, girls are going to be throwing themselves at your feet. Beware." I raise my eyebrows at the last word suggestively and Conner's mouth twitches.

"Feeling blessed are you?" he asks returning a smile, his a little evil.

My face heats up and I abruptly turn on the stairway. Conner's arm catches me before I can take a step back down the stairs and stops my retreat. "Kent- !"

"It's Conner," he states calmly back. His arm encircles my waist and lifts my hips up with his one arm. My feet leave the floor and suddenly, I'm thrown over Conner's left shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"CONNER!" I yell, heat rising to my face again and my feet kicking uselessly in the air.

"There we go," he says in encouragement. "Now if you can remember that –"

"KENT! YOU PUT ME DOWN RIGHT –"

"Ah, back to Kent already? I thought we had gotten over th–"

"KENT!"

Conner continues up the steps with ease, unruffled at my thrashing legs and the pounding fists into his back. His walk came to a slight jog and one horse voice later, Conner was opening the dining room door one handed with me still over his shoulder.

"…DON'T SO HELP ME GOD KENT I WILL PUT YOU THROUGH A WALL YOU SON OF A-"

"Mistress!" Karina's voice scolds somewhere to my left.

I cut off my maiming threats halfway through. _Tell me no one else is-_

"Ah crap. How much do I owe you DS?" I hear Blaze's voce say disappointed. _Ah shit. Of course she would be here. I'm never going to hear the end of this one this-_

"Twenty. Oh cut the crap, we both saw this coming, why did you think she was screaming for so long?" _They were betting on me? On me getting dragged back? Those ass-_

"_You_ might have seen this coming…" Blaze says back in what sounded suspiciously sounded like a sulk.

Before I can yell at Blaze and DS, Karina speaks up. "Conner, I would request for you to drop Mistress Jezebelle if you may."

"Oh let her hang for a couple more minuets, it should be documented," Dick's voice comes from the right. I don't have to see his face to know he's laughing at me.

"GRAYSON WHEN I GET DOWN FROM THIS I SWEAR YOU BETTER-"

"Yelling at your enemies only lets them take advantage of your emotions and it leaves yourself vulnerable for attack," Sir's voice comes from the right as well. _Oh shit. Of course he would see this._

"I-" I murmur sheepishly.

"Mr. Kent!" Karina orders.

I feel Conner's arm release my hips and I slide off of his chest onto the floor. My feet catch my weight on the floor and I step automatically away from Kent. "Gracias Karina."

"Su amante bienvenida." _Your welcome Mistress._

I look around the dining room once and I force the rising heat in my cheeks to die and go away. Blaze, DS, Sir, Dick and Conner each had dinner places set up for them around the table with my own sitting at the head of the table. All six of the people watched me as I get my bearings on my situation before I walk to the head of the table and sit myself down without meeting any one's eyes. "Sit Conner. Karina, the food please."

"Por supuesto, señora." _Of course Ma'am. _

Blaze, DS and Sir didn't comment on my entrance for the rest of dinner, but I had no such luck with Conner and Dick. They both laughed and poked fun at my expression throughout all three courses that evening. Fortunately, Conner didn't mention the fact that I had thought he was cute when he was dating Megan. They both just laughed and joked about Conner not even flinching from my rebellion fits. Sir only commented in this conversation to say that in a situation where my enemy was stronger than myself, I should avoid getting cornered and caught.

Right. Because everything was always that easy with freaking _Super_boy. I was also right to say that Sir knew exactly how powerful my kicks were when I was angry or irritated so he kept his watch on Conner from the corner of his eyes throughout the rest of dinner.

Dinner passed and by the end of dessert, Conner had smiled more than I had ever seen him smile in my entire high school memory. He caught my eye more than a dozen times while Dick would make conversation with Blaze or DS and then would look quickly away when Dick would ask his opinion on whatever Blaze and DS had said.

I watched, a hot feeling spreading through my fingers every time he came back to watch me. I smiled back at him right as attendants came to take away our dessert plates. His smile was automatic and it changed his face from impassive to caring and warm. It made the hot feeling in my stomach jump and tingle down to my toes.

I got up from the table and it dismissed the rest of people around the tables to get up as well. I walk them all to an adjoining room and watch as everyone sat down in open seats. Karina comes to my side at once and holds out an online document with a soft pointed ipen. I accept both and begin reading down a carpenters outline cost of the building in Central City. My eyes devour the words line after line and my thoughts turn to the schematics of my new office and practice building.

"Boss Lady?" Blaze says, interrupting my thoughts.

"Hmm?" I say back automatically, cringing when my own voice hits my ears. Yea, cause that sounded really professional.

"You ever going to take a break from the paperwork and just relax?" she asks looking at the ipad in my arms.

I look down at it and then at the people around the room. They were watching me as well. Everyone. I shake my head at her. "Not until I'm up and running my own business on schedule."

"So in about ten to twenty years?" Dick asks smiling, turning the atmosphere light. Blaze and DS laugh and Conner smiles smoothly.

I squash the urge to roll my eyes. "Hilarious Grayson. A real joke that one was."

"Ouch, heavy on the sarcasm tonight are we?"

"Only matching your annoyance Richard." Blaze snorts and DS starts to laugh heavily. I look back down to the ipad and sign my name on the bottom line for the check I was about to send out. "I have to finish a couple of documents before I turn in. I'll see you all tomorrow goodnight."

With a round of 'Goodnights' I nod to Karina, silently telling her to get some sleep and walk out of the room with the ipad still in my arms. Tonight might get pretty damn long. I clutch the ipad and scroll to the next document strenuously. _Alright. 24,000 for the iron layouts and headboards in the first floor practice room but if I add in the basement and three other ranges it should come…_

* * *

><p>Dick watched Jezebelle walk out of the room with the ipad weighing down her already tired arms. She closed the door behind her and the man Sir stood up as well. Dick watched him wearily, knowing how dangerous the man was and noted the fluid movements with caution. Tianna and Mia watched Sir get up as well, but they stared after him in respect unlike Dick. "Heading off to bed?" Tianna asked standing up too.<p>

"Training at five. I'd suggest sleep before tomorrow," Sir stated, meeting Tianna's eyes.

"Okay," Tianna nodded. Sir's gaze swept the rest of the room, stopping on Conner for a fraction of a second more than Dick was comfortable with and then left out of the room. The door closed behind him silently and Tianna turned to Mia. "Wait, like… five in the _morning?_"

Mia stood up too. "Sounds legit to me." She stretched her arms over her head. Mia nodded once to Conner in goodnight and then at Dick who returned the nod and then went to the door. She was quiet, but she seemed smart. Smarter than most it seemed. He watched Mia trail behind her to the doors.

"Like _in the morning?_" she asked again, following as Mia walked out of the room to their rooms.

Dick was tempted to smile. She acted so similarly like his best friend Wally West, it was uncanny.

"Now who does that remind you of?" Conner asked from Dicks left.

Dick glanced at his friend and was pleasantly surprised to see him smiling. "Dunno. Definitely not Batman that's for sure."

Conner laughed low in his throat and Dick leaned back in the seat in the easy atmosphere. "When I found out you were Rob and the millionaire Bruce Wayne was Batman, you can guess-"

Dick interrupted. "When did you find out? I know it was some point in the last year, but…"

Conner ran a hand through his hair. "Well it helped that Wally was dropping hints everywhere, but I really found out when-"

"-the break in at Wayne Industries?" Dick guessed.

Conner nodded. "Everyone wasn't paying attention, but I was listening."

Dick looked at him closer. "You heard me?"

Conner shook his head. "I heard you're heart beat. You were confused and irritated, you're heart rate wasn't panicking."

"My heart beat?" Dick repeated.

"Yea in all the panic I heard you going back to your class and I knew where you were so when Artemis came up to you, I …well…"

"So you were eavesdropping?"

"What? No!"

Dick leaned farther back in his chair and put a hand over his face. "Better your way than how Artemis found out. That was just horrible."

Conner smirked. "What about Zatanna, does she know yet?"

Dick shook his head. "Neither does Megan."

"So everyone but those two know?"

Dick shrugged. "You can't tell with Megan. I _know_ Zatanna doesn't though."

Conner leaned back in his cushion too. His head swiveled around at the room and he sighed. "So how long are we here for?"

Dick scanned the room. His face tightened and his eyes darkened. He felt like he was betraying her. "Until she's back in the states."

Conner crossed his arms over his chest and his face got stony. There assignment put Conner on edge, and Dick knew Conner thought Jezebelle wasn't hostile. "I don't understand why they all think-"

"She's dangerous Conner. It's that simple," Dick interrupted, reproachful.

"She saved you! Twice! No, cross that, three times! She can't be danger-" Conner said, his voice low but louder than normal.

"Batman-" Dick said, his mouth twisting in distaste.

"Batman doesn't know her."

"Conner-" Dick's temper was rising. He didn't like this assignment either, but it had to be done! It was his job, he had taken an oath. If she really was unstable, or dangerous, the League had a right to know.

"Dick." Conner interrupted heavily. Dick bit back his argument. Conner stood up and Dick studied him wearily. "Her abilities aren't even meant for the offensive. How could anyone even think-"

Dick stood up too and cut off his friend. "It's not her powers that could be a threat Con. It's _her._"

Conner gazed at Dick callously. "She's human. That's not a threat."

Dick ran a hand through his own hair. Batman had made in near impossible for Dick to get this next piece of information. If he told Conner, how far would the ripple of his deceit go? How long would it take for Batman to know? He flattened his hair and glanced at Conner quickly. His friend crossed his arms over his chest again and emanated a cold aura of irritation and defiance.

"She- Conner if she wanted too, she could very well be a very big… _BIG_ threat to not only us as The League but to the world."

Conner looked at him in clear confusion. He shook his head lightly. "What are you-"

"Her blood," Dick revealed, his words seeming to weigh hundreds of pounds. "Her blood is dangerous."

"Blood?" Conner asked, leaning back on his heels in surprise. "Wha- what has that got to-"

"Her blood Conner! It's not just normal blood. It has biological proteins in the DNA that goes beyond normal human blood. It makes her invulnerable to venoms, viruses, and sickness. The energy in the nucleus of the cell makes her blood unmatched in bioenergy. Haven't you ever wondered why she was immune to Poison Ivy's toxins? How she was able to heal Aqualad? How she-"

"No Dick, I'm not interested! She has powers. Powers she uses for good. Not for bad," Conner stated thinly. "She hasn't robbed a bank, threatened to destroy the world or killed innocents. She's _helped_ people." He stared at Dick, his anger rising. "She's not a criminal. She hasn't done anything _wrong._"

Dick put up his hands in surrender. "I know Con. I know. I don't think she would do anything bad like that either. I think she's a good person."

"Then why agree to Batman's assignment? Why not just say no?" Dick grimaced at 'Batman'. "We both know she-"

"Because she's _untrained_ Con. With that kind of unharnessed power… Just imagine a Superman running rampant if someone mind controlled him without the League to stop him." Dick watched Conner's face draw inwards. Fear was etched across his face and Dick jumped at the opportunity to show Conner his side.

"Exactly. It could be dangerous to the people; not just us."

"But Jezebelle wouldn't ever… She couldn't-"

"Her power might not be offensive, but it can be detrimental. If she ever used it-"

"She wouldn't!"

"Conner, there are several types of mind control out there. Anything could happen!" Dick looked away and then back again, determined to just let all of Batman and the League's worries come to front. "And Batman knows about this… _company _as well."

Conner narrowed his eyes lightly. "What about it? It's harmless. It's supposed to _protect_ people."

"A body guard company is _supposed_ to be harmless. If it gets out of control-"

"It won't!"

"But it COULD! Mind control Conner! Mind control! And if she does go under at some point, this _company _could mutate into asmall army!"

Conner clenched his fists. "She's _innocent_. She-"

Dick raised his hands again. "I'm not saying that she did anything!"

Conner threw his hands up in frustration. "So what are we really doing here then?"

"Finding a contingency."

Conner backtracked, and then shook his head. "A what?"

"A … backup plan."

"What do you mean?"

"..and if we don't do it. Batman will. I don't have a choice in this. I can't let him… it's just…"

Dick ran a hair through his hair roughly. He hated this. Hated _doing_ this. It was manipulative, small as a silver lie, but it was like being _Batman_. He made his way to the door, avoiding Conner's gaze. He stopped at the door, but didn't turn to look at his friend. "We're finding the Kryptonite to Jezebelle's power." He opened the door, walked out, and closed it back behind him steadily. Cold hands were clutching at his heart, but he continued to walk to his bedroom without a second glance backwards.

He had done this before, and seeing the many threats against the greater good every night in Gotham, he had no doubt he would be doing this again. This was just one more assignment, he had to remember. Just another assignment.

Another assignment.

Just…

* * *

><p>Four weeks pass me faster than I think is possible. Dinah's presence and advice was a huge help in organizing my thoughts when I thought it would all crumble down on me, and Karina was a god at keeping me on my schedule. My weeks were long, unanimated and exhausting. The only things that kept my eyes open past dinner were Conner and Dick. While Blaze and DS trained with Sir day after day, morning through night, Dick and Conner would always stay with me. They would make me smile when I needed it and Dick would help with a lot of the paperwork when I felt my hand would fall off. Dinah would watch us occasionally, and a couple of times I swear I saw her frown at Dick talking off to the side with Conner.<p>

I would turn to look at them and they would smile back, having more paperwork in their hands then the stack before me had. I would groan, and Dinah's frown would be forgotten until I would see it again a couple of days afterwards. It confused me, but I had so much work on my plate, I barely had time to take care of my own issues.

Issues that had to do with Dick and Conner. I was never alone often, with one or the other coming in and helping me at something or other. Dick would help me with paperwork, but Conner seemed less enthused to be helping me at all. In all consideration, I didn't blame him. He came to get away from a stressful ex-girlfriend and he got a stressful work environment instead. I kind of felt bad about it. Whenever I talked to him about it though, he would wave me away like an old argument and I would sit back and watch as he would alphabetize the newest recruits names into color coordinated binders based on specialized powers.

Two weeks ago though, Conner and Dick seemed to have some type of argument. They never talked about it, but the aura of friendliness that used to be between them was gone. What they had rowed about was unknown to me, but I did know that Dinah knew about it as well. When I mentioned it to Dinah, she shrugged it off as too much testosterone in one building, but I saw her eyes flash dangerously.

Must be a League thing.

Later, I would work through permits, contract plans, and bills while Conner watched me silently. It unfazed me at first, but as the weeks dragged on, I became aware of Conner's gaze on me more and more. Tonight was one of those nights.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

I email an update on the reinforced doors in the basement of the Gotham complex to my new board of directors with a single tap on my computer before turning to my next stack of papers on the desk. There were several more new recruits that wanted to apply and their backgrounds were making me question their real intention of joining. Then again, I gave DS a chance despite her sketchy history and she was thriving. Soon, she would even be able to surpass me in hand to hand.

I feel someone's gaze on me and hairs rise on the back of my neck. I push down the immediate response of suddenly looking around for a potential enemy and look up at Conner's cerulean blue eyes staring at me. "I'm doing nothing illegal I swear," raising my hands up at him in fake attention.

Conner's eyes drop to the floor, face drains of emotion and his jaw clenches. I drop my hands, surprised.

"Kent?" I ask.

"Nothing Alarico. Keep on."

I look down at my paperwork and push it away. I get up from my seat and walk towards Conner. His eyes come upwards and watch me as I walk towards him. I stop in front of me and sit in the chair next to him. He turns to me in his chair and I put my hands in my lap patiently. "Kent."

"Alarico."

"Spill."

"There aren't any liquids to spill at our present location."

"Smartass." I hit him in the shoulder and my hand stings from my own power. _Right, no hitting the walking Man of Jr. Steel._

He doesn't flinch or rub his shoulder. "Actually it's Conner. You know, I thought you would have known that after our first encounter Miss Alarico."

I hit his shoulder again, much lighter this time around. "Shut it Kent. Tell me what's wrong."

Conner looks away. "Leave it alone Alarico."

I shake my head. "Not gonna happen. Come one spill. You just freaked on me. I deserve an explanation."

He glances at me. "A guilt trip won't work."

"I'm not guilt tripping you. Stop avoiding the question."

Conner looks away again.

"Is it between you and Dick? Are you guys still fighting?" I ask, guessing.

"Dick?" he asks looking up. He shakes his head after a minuet and drops his head. "No it's not Dick."

"Oh," I say looking around the room, looking for something to say. "Is it… is it about Megan?"

Conner's face doesn't look at me, but I see him sigh deeply like he was about to do something he was going to regret. Geez, didn't know I was _that_ bad at these whole heart to hearts. "Yea. It's about… Megan."

I put a hand on his shoulder. "Really liked her huh?"

"…Yea. I…don't want to hurt her." His shoulders were tense, and I message the corner where his neck meets his shoulder. He doesn't untense, but I put steady pressure on him none the same.

"It's okay, I'm sure she's okay."

"I don't think she knows how I feel about her." He rotates and my hands fall away from his shoulders. He turns to me and his left hand lightly leans against mine.

This makes me look up sharply at him, but his eyes are already looking down at me. Our faces closer than a foot from each other. It makes my breathing hitch a little. _Oh wonderful, he probably heard that too. _But I couldn't stop looking at him, drowning in blue eyes… _I wonder if he-_ I snap myself out of my thoughts and "Have you told her how you feel?"

His face seems a little closer than it was a second ago. It was weird, feeling like I was asking permission. It made my stomach crawl with butterflies. "No. I don't know how she'll react."

Warmth spreads to the tips of my toes, like a fire inside, right under my skin. "You should ask her."

His face gets a little closer. "Maybe I will."

His head tips to the side, and leans in close to me. His hand gently spreads my fingers out of its relaxed position and entwines his palm and fingers with mine. Heat rushes to my face. I don't think about the details of where I was or what I was doing, but I tip my head slightly upwards to him. Conner comes closer and closer, and before the little voice in the back of my head could scream at me to stop, I close my eyes and his lips brush against mine.

* * *

><p>Dick Grayson watched from the shadows of the study door doorway, his hands in his pockets, fists protruding from his jeans. His muscles were tense, and his jaw was clenched so hard together, his head was starting to hurt. But he welcomed the pain in his fore head and the feel of his nails digging into his skin. It was dull compared to the fire in his chest that was consuming his body, eating away at his sanity.<p>

His mind screamed at him to break open the door, pull Jezebelle away from Conner's face and then beat Conner's flesh until he swore to never so much as look at her again. The other side of his mind, much smaller and cold despite his burning mind, screamed back that he would sooner break every bone in his body than put a dent in Kent. _And besides_, that small voice of reason whispered in his thrashing subconscious, _look at her. She's kissing him back. _

Dick didn't want to, but he stared at the couple in front of him. Conner's hand had come around and was holding her jaw to his face and she in return had put her arms around his neck. _See, this isn't just Kent. It's Jezebelle too. She's choosing him._

…_choosing him... choosing him…_ The words seemed to vibrate and echo through his mind over and over again, until it consumed his train of thought.

With the force of will even Bruce would be proud of, Dick turned on his heel silently and walked away from the room just as silently as he had come. No one called him back, but he didn't think anyone would. She was too busy sucking face with… Kent.

Kent and Alarico. Alarico and Kent. His hands came to fists again and he shoved them in his jeans, hiding them from sight. She had chosen Kent. _That's it, now move on. She's got Kent. She didn't want-_He shoves his thoughts down savagely and begins to run to his room.

* * *

><p>Dinah watched as Dick ran down the hallway and she looked down at the direction he had come from. <em>Interesting,<em> she thought.

* * *

><p><strong>YAY Chapter 30 is done!<strong>

**So. Dick jealous, Conner going after Jezebelle. 0.o**

**UP NEXT: Goin back to Gotham. Seeing Megan. dating, not dating Conner. and more...**

**~Missmusicluver**

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**


	31. Chapter 31

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing that DC already owns.**

* * *

><p>Dick watched Conner lead Jezebelle into the dining room the next morning with a smile wide on his face. Dick forced himself not to grimace or clench his fists. <em>She's allowed to choose who ever she wants,<em> he reminded himself the umpteenth time that morning. _She chose who she wanted, get over it. Think about something else._

But it was hard for him to 'get over it'. Especially when Conner, being the damn gentlemen all of a sudden, pulled out Jezebelle's chair for her and caused the entirety of the table to watch as Jezebelle clearly got a little pink in the face. Dick couldn't help his shoulders tensing and his jaw rotating backwards slowly in anger.

Conner seated himself on Jezebelle's left. Tianna smiled widely and held her hand out to Mia. Grudgingly, Mia reached under the table and pulled out sixty dollars from her jeans. She dropped the money into Tianna's hand reluctantly and slid her gaze over to Dick accusingly. Dick narrowed his eyes in return. They were betting on this? How long had he been obvious to this? How long had he been blind to this ridiculous attempt at pushing his feelings towards Jezebelle? His suspicion turning into anxiety. Who had taken advantage of his momentary weakness to unmask him? His eyes immediately slid to Sir, who watching Conner interacting with Jezebelle with hardened eyes and shielded expression. _He knows who Conner is_. The thought came quickly to Dick's mind and he lost the unspoken accusations in his head at the older man in the next instant. _I have to warn Conner._

Conner smiled easily at Jezebelle and Jezebelle smirked back at him. Tianna snickered behind her hand and Conner's smile widened bigger than before. Dick's insides went cold. …_Not yet though._

"Happy Birthday Jezebelle," Dick announced, breaking off the giggles and sideways glances between the couple.

Jezebelle looked up in surprise like she had just noticed Dick was present. Dick tried to brush the feeling of cold disappointment off his shoulders lightly. It didn't work. Jezebelle smiled at the corners of her mouth and Dicks insides warmed back up immediately. "Thanks. It's good to be seventeen." Her gaze slid over to Dinah who was seated by Sir. "One more year till I'm officially an adult."

Tianna gasped dramatically and Mia started to look bored at this information. "You're birthday?" Tianna asked, her voice going up higher a notch than normal.

Dinah met Jez's eyes coolly. "No need to rush to be an adult. It's not as grand as everyone claims it is to be."

Sir didn't comment. Conner looked at Dick quickly and then at Jezebelle. "I didn't know it was your birthday."

Jezebelle shrugged and looked across the room for, Dick guessed, the breakfast attendants. "I don't usually celebrate it."

Mia looked up sharply from the more interesting dinner room table. "What, never got any good presents?"

Dick glanced at Mia half surprised, half suddenly annoyed. Jezebelle didn't flinch, but looked to the older girl with icy eyes. "My sister was always a bigger priority. Her birthday is tomorrow."

Tianna couldn't help but cut in here. "You have a sister?"

"_Had_ a sister. She's dead."

A very awkward silence spread around the table. Jezebelle stood up silently and shook her head sharply at Conner who almost stood up with her. "I think I'll eat my breakfast in my rooms this morning. Karina if you would send it up for me."

Karina met Jez's eyes and nodded in confirmation. "Get packed Tianna, Mia. The transition of _Protection_ will be held today in Gotham. We're all going." Jezebelle turned away, to Dicks spurring pleasure, without a glance at anyone, including Conner.

* * *

><p>"…afterwards, I'll meet you all there." I look to Karina evenly. "Have the doors open when I arrive. Trace the limousine; it will be registered under Alarico understood?" Karina nods silently, and I look around the plane one more time.<p>

"Good luck," Dick smiles at me, his face set in a cross between a grimace and an amused smile. He knew what was coming and he was glad he had no part in it, the little ass. The plane door opens, and the setting sun in Gotham City makes the airport look a little gloomy.

_Well happy birthday to me. _I step out into Gotham Airport's stretch with Blaze and DS at my sides with my eyes hidden by 500 dollar sunglasses. I wore five inch black heels, black tights, a white pencil skirt and jacket and blood red shirt underneath with a wide collar that overlapped the front of the jacket. My hair was split down the middle, half up in separate braids until they attached in the back, leaving the rest of my auburn hair hanging free in curls that fell down my chest and framing the sides of my face. Blaze and DS wore plain black suits, their hair back in low ponytails, and their eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses. Their hands were folded in front of them respectfully while they walked two steps behind me, their eyes scanning the area behind the plastic frames.

"Be sure that you protect yourself Blaze. Your only into your third month of pregnancy, don't strain yourself."

"I'm pregnant Boss Lady, not sick with cancer," Blaze replies rolling her eyes.

I keep my face a blank mask and swallow the laugh that was running up my throat.

Press was lined outside of the plane, camera's already settling on my face, and microphones pushing their way up to me. Blaze and DS step forwards at my sides and use their arms like a rail to towards the mass of electronics that are pushed to me.

"Miss. Alarico is it true that the open spaces in Southern Gotham's power plant will be attributing to the new ownership of the recently bought retail spaces you're going to use for-"

"Jezebelle! How do you feel coming back to Gotha-?"

"Miss Alarico! When will you be opening the-?"

"Miss!-"

"Jezebel-"

"-Time to go forwards on the-"

"Is it true-"

"-for the remainder of your stay at-"

"How are you-"

"- to be your legal guardian-"

"What are your plans-"

"-transferring to Gotham and Central-"

"Being the last of the Alaric-"

"-comment on -?"

Voices shouted over one another for my attention as I ignored the questions more and more. I even managed to keep my face neutral. I sigh inwardly at the frontal attack, and for a split second, I'm jealous of Dinah, Sir, Dick, and Conner in the plane, waiting for the reporters to pass and leave before they get off. I enter the crowd and Blaze's face turns into an ugly grimace as she pushes back the thrashing reporters that shove their cameras into my face. Lights blind my eyes, and shouting voices drown out my leveled voice.

"No comment," I respond calmly over and over again. "No comment."

Airport security runs forwards from the building ahead. Suddenly the reporters are backing away from my little group of three and the security unit of the airport is escorting me into the building. Blaze, DS and I get inside the building, and I only stop to thank the nearest security guards around me before moving onwards to the front of the airport. Unfortunately, more reporters were there.

"Louis Lane, Daily Planet. Do you have any comment on the controversial image on your age taking over the-"

"Lane?" I ask, moving my sunglasses downwards an inch to look at her without the black tint.

A 5'7 tall woman with black hair and blue eyes looked up at me with a small recorder in her hand. The woman blinks in surprise, then grins, making the corners of her eye crinkle evilly. "Heard of me?"

I smile lightly. "No. Kent though, I have heard of. I used to know a family member of his. Tell Kent I say hi for me will you?" I ask, winking momentarily. Lois drops her grin and lowers the recorder.

"Smallville?" she asks looking surprised.

I nearly choke out a laugh. Smallville? That's the pet name she comes up with for the Man of Steel? I grin. "Just Kent for me. See you later Miss. Lane."

I walk past her before she has time to ask for an interview. Blaze and DS cover my sides as other reporters attack me from all sides. I keep my head down, my mouth shut and my emotions off my face. Soon, cold air hits me and I realize I've made it outside. A black limousine with dark tinted windows is in front of us, and DS, Blaze and I enter one after the other as fast as we can. Shouted questions are muted as the door slams behind DS. I lean back gratefully in leather seats and the heaters turn on, full blast.

"Well that went well," Blaze comments as the car moves forwards.

"Better than I expected," DS says, missing the sarcasm in Blaze's voice.

"Not as good as it could have gone, but it wasn't horrible," I say.

Blaze looks out the window and the darkening Gotham sky starts to rain heavily. "So where to now?"

I lean farther back in my chair and breathe in the hot hair that surrounds me. Now would probably be the only time I would be able to relax partially by myself. "Home."

* * *

><p>"This… <em>This<em> is home?" Blaze asks looking upwards, her eyes widening and her jaw dropping to a degree. DS looked up coolly, but I saw a spark of awe hinted in her eyes as well. "This isn't a home! It's a freaking… freaking… _castle._"

Well, she wasn't far off. My new home was an old Victorian property located right on the edges of Gotham city. It was six stories tall, 30,000 square feet and had 31 bedrooms, 34 bathrooms, 2 living rooms, 1 dining room, one kitchen, one theater, two pools, one spa, a lake, a tennis court, a basketball court, one library, one wine cellar, one gym and one music annex. All in all it was pretty damn big. Bigger even than the house in Bolivia. Smaller than Wayne's house though, Dick was sure to mention that when I showed him the house plans two weeks ago.

We drove down the long driveway, watching as the house loomed closer and closer to us. It wasn't ugly, but in the short time I have owned it, I haven't made it exactly beautiful either. Outside stood white stone walls. They were fifteen feet high and three feet thick. They extended only five or six feet before 18 feet high black iron gates molded out of the white stone and spread itself around the entire property. Seven security cameras followed our car before it went through the gate and into the property, down another long ass driveway. Cherry blossom tree's lined the edge of the driveway, littering the ground will small pink flowers. The rain crushed the flowers to the ground but behind the beautiful pink trees stood maple, oak, apple and orange trees.

"So pretty," I hear Blaze murmur to herself across from me.

"Get used to the sight," I say offhandedly. "Until you both find places of your own, you're living here."

DS shifted on the seat. I didn't have to look at her to see her deep in thought. "Don't over think about it Mia. You'll find your own house in your own time. Just give yourself some space to think about what you _want _before you jump into a lease." I shrug my shoulder at the mansion before us. "God knows I have enough space to accommodate a couple more people."

"Did it have to be so…." Blaze asks, her shoulders seeming to shrink at the prospect of living in such a house.

"…scary looking?" I ask finishing her sentence. Blaze nods, not taking her eyes off of the house. I look upwards at it too in thought. "Originally, it was a dark violet color. I only just managed to get the house painted 'rustic tan' to cover up the ugly purple." It was true too. The color reminded me of an incoming bruise, and it took six coats of 'rustic tan' to make the darker color disappear. "It used to look a lot scarier than it did now. The trees weren't kept, the ceiling was falling in, even the gateway was ugly looking. I changed a couple things here and there to make it more comfortable."

Blaze didn't look impressed. "It's still scary."

DS snorted. "Suck it up. It's better than Crime Alley."

Blaze glanced at DS shortly before staring back at the six story mansion. "I doubt it."

Lightning flashes in the sky, casting a long shadow over the house, making it look chilling and haunting. It wasn't helping my case with Blaze. "Well, it doesn't look perfect, but it's definitely safer than Crime Alley."

Blaze still wasn't convinced. "Really."

I threw a pen from one of the side holsters in the car at Blazes head. Blaze automatically ducks and the pen flies past her harmlessly. She smirks. "Losing our touch are we?"

"Some of us haven't had the privilege to train with Sir everyday this last month. Some of us were trying to start a company," I say back with a faked edge.

"That's a crap alibi for an excuse," DS deadpanned.

Blaze snorts loudly and I lean back against the leather cushions soundly. "Mr. Lee, are we there yet?" I ask, yelling through the limousine.

A black backdrop from the front of the limo falls down wards, and back of a short man with dark black hair appears. "Excuse me ma'am?" he asks, brown eyes flashing to me hesitantly.

"The Manor. Are we there yet?" I ask pleasantly.

He nods his head. "We are now ma'am."

The car engine shuts off and DS opens the door. Rains slams down outside as DS steps out, and she's soaked within five seconds. "Blaze!" DS shouts in the limo, her wet hair plastered to her back. Wind rips through the limo from outside and rain splatters the entrance of the car. Blaze jumps forwards and gets out into the rain too. I make my way to the front, and when I reach the door, a large black umbrella is already hanging over me at the edge of the door. The short Mr. Lee stands in attention with his arm held as high as he can, the umbrella directly above me, forcing rain to splatter the back of his pressed suit. "Come on, let's move," DS orders loudly over the falling rain.

I thank Mr. Lee and Hold the umbrella for myself. "If you're ever tired of driving commercially Mr. Lee, give me a call. I need a limo driver when I get my contacts in order. Say about two days." The shorter man nods seriously, and I nod back just as seriously. "Good day then." DS and Blaze shepherd me up marble steps and up to an 18 foot iron front door.

Blaze touches the door knob, but the door is already swinging open. "In! In quickly!" I hear Karina order. Hot air hits my face, the umbrella is pulled away and instantly I'm swept into a thick towel. I shuffle in with DS and Blaze at my sides. "Get DS and Bla-"I say, my teeth starting to chatter. Despite the protections, water has soaked my skirt, jacket, blouse and hair. Wet strands of my hair hung in my face and Karina pushed them back hurriedly.

"Están a cargo de la señora." _They're already taken care of Mistress. _

I look to my left encased my towel and see that Blaze and DS have already been wrapped tightly in fluffy white towels like mine. I nod stiffly. "G-G-Get t-t-the-"

"Already there." And suddenly Dick is there and is guiding me farther inside the mansion. We walk over marble floors into a grand front living room with black marble floors and dark red cherry wood walls. An enormous brown and gold fireplace sat at the front of the room with a large circular rug in front of it. Dick guided me by his hand on the small of my back to dark leather couches in front of the roaring fire. He sat me down in the middle and rubbed the towel against my skin feverishly.

"Tell me when you can feel your fingertips," he muttered, looking down at my entombed arms.

"S-sure," I shiver relentlessly.

"I got her feet," I hear Conner's voice to the left of me. I look over to his voice and I see DS sitting on the carpeted floor near the flames with Conner crouching at her feet. Red light dances off her pale face and blonde face, shadowing her bright green eyes staring at Conner with narrowed eyes.

"I can do it mys-" I hear her say hoarsely.

"I'm sure you could. But you're a little tied up at the moment," Conner says back shamelessly.

"Bad…" Blaze coughs loudly from the other side of the couch with Karina hovering over her worriedly. "…Pun…" She leans back into the leather sofa, exhausted and I smile despite the cold weighing down my body.

DS doesn't say anything back at this, and Conner unties the laces to Mia's left foot. He sits down on the ground just off to the side of her, and I lean forwards into Dick. His fingers are rubbing the cold away from my arms and I rest my head on his chest in a deep sigh. I should be mad that Conner wasn't helping me. I should be jealous. I should be giving DS dirty looks or thinking bad things about her in the back of my mind.

I really should. _Jet lag really hits me down hard doesn't it?_

But the cold is numbing my fingers, toes and apparently my heart as well. All I feel is the heat coming from Dick's hands and chest on my forehead. I close my eyes and inhale slowly as the biting cold begins to disappear from me. The fire in to the side of me heats the open skin of my soaked nylons and warm shivers spread up my leg.

"You okay?" Dick asks from above.

I look upwards and rest my chin on his stomach. Dick looks down and his black hair covers the corners of his blue eyes. I stare at blue sky in his eyes tiredly. "I'll admit, I've been better."

A smile rounds his face and I feel warmth spread down to the tips of my toes. _The fire needs to be turned down a bit it seems._ His eyes leave mine, but his hands rub absently at the towel and my jacket. The warmth drains away. _Never mind, it needs to be raised up more. _"You'll be better sooner than you think." His eyes scan around the room, and I follow the direction he's looking. Huge paintings of rose gardens and mountain landscapes cover the cherry wood walls. A chandelier hangs from the top of the 20 foot high ceiling.

"The house will suck the warmth actually, so it won't really help. Your arguments invalid." I look back up to him and look straight into bright blue staring down. I fight the urge to swallow.

His face rounds again and the fires heat wraps around my chest. "But you're redecorating, so it won't be that bad."

I look away sarcastically. "It will until I get around to redecorating."

"And when are you planning on doing that?"

I roll my eyes. Dick's hands stop moving up and down my arms. "Whenever I get around to it. Probably in a couple of months."

The towel falls from my shoulders and I take the opportunity to unbutton my now damp jacket to reveal the still wet shirt underneath. The dark red material glues itself to my skin, showing more of my curves than I'm comfortable with. I pull the white towel over my arms again and look back up at Dick.

He stares down at me, eyes staring off blankly. I tip my head at him and wave my hand in front of his face for a moment. He snaps back to his body in sudden jump and blinking of his eyes. "Sorry, d-dozed off there a sec."

I shrug my shoulders and his hands rub up and down my arms again. "You must be tired. Jet lag can really kill."

He grins. "I would guess so. Where were we?"

"Redecoration. I can't do it for another couple of months. Or well, at least until I find the time to do it."

Dick nods appreciatively. "Yea, well," he smirks slightly. "I can't stay and warm you up for that long. Bruce would miss me."

I look away, the base of my neck suddenly hotter than the fire's heat on my right side. "I didn't ask for you to stay _that_ long."

"What?" he asks. "Don't like me doing this?" he lifts his hands and I immediately grab them. My ice cold hands touch the warm outsides of his and I nearly sigh at the sudden warmth.

"No. No, you're just fine."

He smirks lightly. "But you did just say that-"

"You couldn't stay for months and months. That doesn't mean you can't stay for now."

His hands come back and rub the towel against my arms. "Well I guess I can stay a little longer."

I roll my eyes. "Oh please do."

"Well only because you beg."

I snort unbusiness-like and Dick laughs. Karina walks to us and holds out her hand to me. "Let's get you changed Ma'am. Your wet clothes will catch you a cold."

I look up at Dick. "Oh and we were having such an interesting conversation."

Dick grins at my sarcasm. "What blasphemy."

"The indignity!"

"The unholyness."

"The abuse."

"The desecration."

"The heresy."

"The scurrility." _Oh like to use big words do you?_

I stare at him straight faced. "The desecration."

Dick's eyebrow rises slightly, like he was saying '_challenge accepted'_. A wicked gleam entered his eyes. "Sacrilege."

"Fascism."

"Execration."

"Imprecation."

"Irreverence."

"Vituperation."

"Denunciation."

"Vilification."

"Regimentation."

"Totalitarianism."

"Despotism."

I smile, and a shiver runs down my spine. "Peremptoriness."

He grins back. "Honorificabilitudinitatibus."

I blink in shock and shake my head exasperated. "You have to use _English_ words," I say rolling my eyes.

Karina looks between us, bemused and I begin to notice the rest of the room watching Dick's and I argument.

"That _is _an English word. Shakespeare used it 'Love's Labor's Lost'. It means honorableness."

I pull out of Dick's arms and cross my arms over my chest. The towel falls around my hips and the fire immediately starts to heat my damp shirt and skirt. I narrow my eyes at him, challenge full on. If he wanted to play like that, so be it. "Pneumono ultra micro scopic sillco volcano coniosis."

He smiles wide. "A medical term. Nice. I believe that words used to describe a lung disease caused by breathing in particles of siliceous volcanic dust."

I nod victoriously. "Your turn."

He grins and opens his mouth, but Karina cuts him off hurriedly. "Ma'am I insist."

I look up at Karina and then back to Dick. The damp clothes cling to my skin and hugs me in places that felt too tight for my own good. I hold down a sigh and nod to Karina. She extends a small hand and I grab onto her warm skin lightly. "Yes, you're probably right, I should change."

"Not like you'd actually catch a cold though," Dick comments quietly behind me, so no one else can hear.

I don't turn around to acknowledge he had said anything, and Dinah comes to take my other side. "Come on, we'll both get you up to bed. It's been a long day."

I nod again and Dick shouts from behind me. "Hey Alarico." My arms slip from Karina and Dinah's grasp and I turn around slightly. He grins lightly and his hands go inside his pockets. His hair falls over his eyebrows and the tips of his eyes. "Supercalifragilisticexpialid ocious."

"Holy shit, I think my vocabulary's exploded and been super loaded with smart people words," Blaze says off to the side. I look over at her and DS does too with a dry expression.

"Considering my short experience with you, that doesn't seem like the most unthinkable thing."

Blaze tosses her black hair over her shoulder. "Oh like _you_ knew what peremptor… idiness meant!"

I smile softly. DS doesn't find it amusing. "Peremptoriness."

"Same difference."

DS narrows her eyes. "It means to leave no opportunity for denial or refusal."

Blaze waves it away indifferently. "No wonder you know what it means then. It represents your attitude when you talk about the Raiders."

Conner laughs and I smile lightly. "Night. I'll see you all tomorrow."

I meet Connors eyes and the corners of his mouth lift up softly. He nods and I know what he means. I blink back at him and turn back to Dinah's and Karina's hands. They take me by the arm easily and I let them lead me out of the front room.

* * *

><p>Later that night I sat in my Super-King sized bed in the middle of my room. Unlike most of the rest of the house, it was my room that I emphasized the most work on when I decided to by this property. Out was all the old wood and crowned ceiling and<em> in<em> was wood floors in the bedroom, carpet on the elevated island where my bed sat and blue-black marble on the floors of the master bathroom. The walls were painted a warm blue and my bedspread was white/cream. This room was one of the few that was also upgraded. There was a fireplace at the front of the space where my bed sat and just off to the side of it stood a large ten shelved book case with a safe room hidden behind it. A large TV sat mounted on the wall to the left of my bed and it was connected to the many cameras surrounding around and in the house.

I leaned against the post of my bed and the tank top and long pajama bottoms rubbed against my now dry skin. My hair hung down, wavier than usual from the braids getting wet earlier on and I let it sit untouched down my back. A soft knock on my bedroom door echoed through the room and I look upwards expectedly. "Come in."

The door opens silently and the tall raven haired Super teen walks inside hesitantly. "Jezebelle?" he asks looking around the wide room.

"You don't have to pretend. I know you can hear me breathing." His head turns automatically to me and he smiles lightly before closing the door behind him.

"People feel less… threatened, if they feel like their talking directly to a normal person." He walks calmly up to the bed and sits down a couple of good inches away from me. His hands settle in his lap.

I lean my head against the tall bedframe. "It's a good thing I'm not normal then huh?"

He leans against the bedframe opposite from me and crosses his arms over his chest comfortably. I stretch my feet out to him and he does the same across from me. Our legs brush against each other and his feet come up to my ankles. I put the flats of bare feet against his sock covered and push slightly. I slide backwards on the bed an inch and I lean straighter against the bed frame.

Conner smiles and flexes his feet against mine. I try to push back, but even his feet muscles are stronger then mine. I huff silently and cross my arms over my chest, giving up entirely. He pushes against my foot again and Conner laughs when I don't move. "Are you pouting?"

I give him a sour look. "I don't pout."

"I'm sure. That's why you're talking under your breath."

Heat rises to my face. _Oh shiz I forgot about that._ I cringe. "You heard that?"

He looks me in the eye shamelessly. "Every word."

"Sorry."

His grin gets a little bigger. "Still glad you're not normal?" His smile looks sincere, but his hands twist in his lap and his eyes look off for a split second. It did bother him, more than he was going to tell me.

"Every day." I look around the room and spread out my arms dramatically. "I wouldn't have all this if I had been born normal." I laugh lightly and even tried on a small smile. Even to me though, it seemed more plastic than sarcastic.

"No, but what _would_ you have?" Conner's voice is low and I back to him. The meaning of his words sink in and I feel the need to swallow the emotions that suddenly turn in my stomach.

"It depends," I shrug my shoulders, my fake smile completely gone. "On whether my mom had the ability or not too. If she didn't then I'd have a mom, possible dad and dead sister. If she did, I'd have a dead mom, dead dad and dead sister. Either way I lose Miranda. "

"Did your mom?" Conner asks, meeting my eyes. "Have your ability I mean."

I nod. "Yea, it was her genes that passed the family ability down to me." I pause. "And my sister."

Conner looked faintly surprised. "She had you're gift?"

I nod again. "It was less powerful, and more of just raw energy. She was strong that was for sure. Even her sickness-"

"Sickness?"

I close my mouth, fists clenching at my sides. _She's already dead, there's no need to hide it anymore. No need to protect what you don't have. The doctors probably even long gone now._ I make my hands lay on the mattress gently. "Yea, she was sick. I don't know with what, there wasn't a name for what she had."

"Was it bad?"

I look away and nod, my throat tightening. "It killed her when she was born, or …nearly killed her. My mom gave her life for the trade of Miranda to wake up again."

"You're mom killed herself?" cold shock laced Conner's voice, and I realized he had no idea the kind of sacrifice a mother would make for her child. Where was _his_ mother anyways?

Nodding again, a sort of numb tingling was constricting my chest. "The sickness never really went away though. It was always there, eating away at her, making her more fragile than the other kids her age."

"But if she has you're gift, she couldn't get si-"

"She wasn't born with the family trait. The ability only comes to the first born. Miranda shouldn't have had any powers, at all."

"So your mother's sacrifice-"

I nod, catching on to her meaning. "It gave her my mother's power. She only had one sickness in her lifetime. The one she was born with. The rest… poisons, colds, flues, anything else… it didn't affect her."

"But she could heal others?"

I nod. "She'd only be able to heal small animals or plants. Anything bigger and she'd collapse."

Conner smiled gently, trying to break the tossed atmosphere. "Didn't know you could heal plants."

I give him a lift of a smirk. "Healing wouldn't be the right word for it when it comes to plants. It's like… have a green thumb, just… making it grow faster. I could never do it though, when I tried the plant turned different colors…."

He smiles and looks down in his lap. "So your sister was sick, and you didn't know from what. You're mom died to give your sister life. Where's your dad?"

"Dead. Went insane after my mom died."

Conner looked up, pity causing his face to contort inwards. "I'm sor-"

"Don't be. You weren't part of it," I cut him off evenly. He looked away again, the tension coming back into the room. I made no opening to end it, but sat myself in the middle of the emotion building in the hole in my heart. "Her gift though, was not enough to save her when she was shot. The bullet had disrupted the walls of the heart."

"And you-"

"-tried to save her? Yes, I did. It wasn't enough though. Our powers bounced off each other."

"I didn't know people's abilities could do that."

"When you have the same type of power, it does." Conner nods, but it was only to be polite. He had no idea what I was talking about. I look away from him and to the curtained windows on the other side of the room. "Take magic, if you put one magician against another, the outcome would be magician defenses and offenses changing and switching between each other. If you took a gunman to a magician though, the magician would win and the gunman would be turned into a flower. Powers against the same can be fought against each other."

"Yea but magicians have spells that can be used for offense and defense. Healing is just one ability. How would it …contradict itself?"

"It wouldn't contradict as much as stop itself. When the bullet had ripped her heart, I couldn't close the walls. Her own healing was trying to fix it as well as mine. It was rejecting my healing against her body. I think it hurt her more than it helped."

Conner seemed confused. "But healing is only defensive. You can't really hurt anyone with it."

I look at Conner deep in his eyes, making sure he could clearly see my face and eyes. "Can't it? Do you really believe that?" I ask slowly. "If you heal someone past their healthy rate, what would that make them?"

Conner seemed to think about this for a moment, before shrugging. "Over energized? Over healthy? That really isn't possible…"

"It is Conner. It's definitely possible."

"So it would make them feeling like they could run a marathon? Throw a big rock? I don't understa-"

"There is a limit to healing someone Conner. A limit on the healer and the healed. A limit to someone's mortality and a limit to the edge of death. Once someone goes past one of those two things, you can't go back. You can only go forwards."

"Death and… mortality? Like Immortality? I don't-"

"If a human is healthy, it is able to function without help of outside force. It automatically breathes in oxygen, releases carbon dioxide, pumps blood through the body, sends neurons to the brain and continually moves onwards. When a human body is unhealthy or injured, the body fixes itself to fix whatever's wrong. … Do you get it?"

Conner nods. "I understand when a body works and when it doesn't," he says a little dryly.

I try not to roll my eyes. "So when a body is at tip-top shape, it runs perfectly, but it will tire and it will have a limit after a period of time."

"Okay?"

"What do you think would happen if someone was healed at that point of top physical fitness?"

"Jezebelle stop answering my question with questions! What are you talking about?" Conner asks, leaning forwards and crossing his legs beneath him.

I sigh and cross my legs on the bed too. We sit facing one another, staring at the other. "I mean healing can be- no _is_ dangerous. Healing can make someone stronger Conner, and if used badly, can make someone … it can make someone…."

"…What?" Conner asks leaning forwards more. "It can make what?"

I look into his eyes. _Don't. You don't even know this person. You can't trust him because he had pretty eyes, suck it up. _I look back and forth between his eyes. _You don't even know his middle name. What his birthday is!_ "It can make someone…"

_You can't trust him_. But it's _Conner_. He would never want to hurt me. He's part of the Justice League. _Who could possibly see you as a threat if you found out someone else had the power to do what you can._ Dinah wouldn't make me threat. _Wouldn't she? Batman would. _Bruce has nothing to do with this. _Conner has nothing to do with this. If you tell anyone, it's one more weakness someone can exploit you with._ I can trust the League. They're the good guys. They won't hurt me."…immortal."

"What?" Conner asks, his eyes going wide and his head leaning back against the bed. "I-Immortal Like living forever kind of 'immortal'?"

I nod. "My blood. Miranda's blood. My healing. If you take some of my blood and condense it with the right amount of-"

"Your blood can make people immortal?" Conner's eyes were wide and he was staring at me like it was the first time he was seeing me. "You- You-"

I sit on my knees and lean forwards to him. He doesn't move, his eyes still wide and looking into mine shocked. "Conner, it's just my blood. Not me okay? That's why I destroy my blood whenever I leave it behind. I'm not going around giving my blood to people so they can become immortals!"

"How… how do you even know that you can …make-"

"I don't _make_ immortals Conner. I don't even know if I'm powerful enough to-"

"How do you even know you _can_ do it? How did you figure out you could even get the idea! This is just… this is bad Jez. This is-"

"Conner! No Conner look at me!" Conner looks around the room and runs a hand through his black hair. "Conner!" He turns to me and shakes his head with wide eyes. They glinted in the low light in my room and for a moment, I think I see …_fear._

"Batman was right. You-you're dangerous…"

Cold shock ran through my body like ice water. "Batman?" I echo. _Bruce said I was dangerous? Me? But I wouldn't… I haven't… I couldn't… _"Why would he say… Conner what do you mean? What are you talking about?"

Conner shook his head. "Robin was too." _Robin? Dick? Dick thinks I'm dangerous? But he was talking to me, holding me. Comforting me…_ "The things you could do... You could create an army of-"

"Conner!" I yell, hurt and shock constricting my chest. No it wasn't just Bruce, it was Dick and Conner who were afraid of me. They were _scared_ of me like citizens were scared of criminals who tried to kill them.

His eyes flash to my face and he eyes immediately soften. "Jezebelle I-"

"Just because you and Superman are powerful enough to rip through buildings, kill hundreds of people, crown yourself kings and rule the world, do you do it? Do you want to do it?" I ask, heat deep in my words, my face heating and my fists clenching together. _You. Are. An. Idiot._ _You trusted. You liked. You held onto. Now he's scared and thinks you a monster. Congratulations, you've probably just marked yourself as a threat to the League as well. Good job. _

Conner looked at me disgusted and shocked. "What? NO! Never. I would never even think about it!"

"And why Conner? You have the power, you have the opportunities!"

"Because I'm not a killer! I'm not a villain!"

I get off the bed and stand up in front of him, arms straight at my side. "Neither am I Kent! Do you think I _want_ to be able to do what I can do? To heal people, but never save the people I _need_. Never being good enough, fast enough to save them, but capable of saving complete strangers at the brink of death?"

Conner's tense shoulders relax. "Jezebelle-" he says.

I turn my back on him and I wrap my arms around myself. _Dangerous. You now have a label. You, are dangerous. What would Miranda think?_ "I would never do that. Never. Haven't you seen that? I mean what have I done, what have I said that would make you think that I-"

"Jezebelle. Stop. I didn't think that you-"

"Yes you did Conner you just said so! You just said Bruce and Dick thought I was dangerous! Dangerous!" I round on him yelling, heat running down my veins, and lighting across my cheeks. My insides were tumbling against themselves, furious that I had thought I was safe. "You named me a danger to people because of what I can do!"

"Jezebelle you _are_ a danger! If you ever lost control of your own body or were desperate to save someone, you would do _anything _to save it! You could change the destiny of the world the-" his voice raised to a yell to and he got off the bed and stood over me, a foot away.

"So could you! You could change the world too! You could go crazy and kill hundreds of thousands of people! You COULD, but you DON'T! Why?" I ask raising my arms, frustration and anger rising in my voice with every word. "WHY Conner WHY?"

"BECAUSE I'M A GOOD PERSON!" he explodes yelling loudly in my face, his eyes glinting in anger.

"BASED ON WHOSE VALUES? Yours? Clarks? Bruce's?"

"What are you _talking about?"_

"I'm talking about you!" The door opens and slams against the wood of my wall. Conner's eyes glance over, but I'm too angry to notice anything else. "No look at me Conner Kent!" Conner glance's back, the anger gone from his eyes. "You judge me based off of the few things you know about me Conner! You trust the perspective of other people above the experience you've had with me! And so because I happen to have an ability, I am a danger to everyone. Is that what you're saying?"

Conner shakes his head. "No Jez, that's not-"

"Well that's _exactly_ how it sounded," I deadpan deeply. "You have powers, but you use them for good. You have just as much chance as I do for going haywire and destroying the world. I have powers, and I don't go making the world a living hell. What is the difference between me and you then? What makes you less of a liability than me?"

He squares his face to me, and his eyes bore into mine without escape. "Unlike you Jezebelle, I _have_ a backup plan to make sure that doesn't happen."

"You're bullet proof, and super strong. That's a load of crap."

"No, I have a weakness. That weakness is known by the entire league and will be used against me should I turn against them or get controlled by someone else."

"A weakness?" I echo slowly. "You don't trust me because you don't think I have a weakness?"

Conner seemed to sigh. He put a hand up to the bridge of his nose like he was getting a bad headache. "You just admitted to being able to making immortals Jezebelle. A weakness on you isn't high on our priority list right now."

The attitude with his words flew over my head unnoticed. My mind was too busy replaying what he had said over and over inside. "_Our_," I echo again. _Isn't high on __**our **__priority list. _I look to the door and my eyes narrow dangerously. Anger filled blood pumps through my veins and sleep is the farthest thing from my mind now.

Dinah and Karina stood at the edge of the door with Blaze and DS peeking over their shoulders from behind. Dinah meets my eyes and knowing spreads across her face. She immediately raises her hands into the air in surrender. "Jez-"

"'_Our'_ Dinah. _'Our'_." I shake my head, dis-believement churning my insides out. "How long have you been talking about me and my abilities behind my back Dinah? How long have you been searching for an appropriate way to control me? Since the cages? At Andres's? Taking guardianship over me?" Betrayal sinks like a dead weight into the pit of my stomach and spreads across my chest, constricting my lungs.

"Jezebelle I wanted to tell you myse-"

"You… you lied to me. After _everything. _After every conversation we had, I thought we were at an agreement. I thought we had an understanding." I take a step backwards. "The _entire_ time I've been with you. Were you looking for a weakness at my lowest points?"

Dinah stepped out of the doorway and into my room. "Jezebelle no, that's not what happened-"

"Who else was apart of this? Dick? Bruce? Clark?" I ask, cutting into her words. "Did all of you agree that I needed to be brought down to my knees?"

"What?" Dinah asks, shocked. "Jez what are you talking about? No one wants to-"

"Then why am I dangerous?" I ask Dinah, my emotions swirling into my head, making tears come to my eyes. _Don't you dare cry you stupid little girl. Look around and remember this. This is what happens when you let them in, this is life. Get used to it. Accept it. _"Why am I already labeled?"

"You're not labeled Jezebelle. You're not dangerous. Jezebelle whatever you've been told, it's not true. You're not-"

"So Conner's lying to me?" I ask looking at Conner pointedly with sarcasm. "And Dick? Dick's lying along with Bruce. They all agree with one another and they're all lying?" I ask. "Well what a relief that I can only trust you then."

Conner stepped away from the bed. "Jezebelle that's not fair. We couldn't tell you. It was orders."

"It was orders," I repeat. Conner's face blanches and Dinah glares at Conner. "You were ordered… to do what exactly?"

"Nothing Jez, we wouldn't do it. It doesn't matter. We know the kind of person you are. You-" Dinah starts off.

"We were supposed to find a… constraint against you," Conner says in a low voice.

"A constraint. So a weakness like we were talking about. I already got that." I looked From Conner to Dinah and back between the two of them. "You were ordered to find a weakness about me in case I went haywire. Okay. I got that. So, who sent you out to do it?" _You already know who did. You should have known he would have after all the things he's done for you. No one is just that nice._

Dinah looked cautious. "Jezebelle, he has it on everyone. He wants to make sure the Justice League is never too powerful. This is nothing against you personally."

"Batman…" I say loudly, voicing my fears.

"Batman," Conner nods.

"I can't believe Bruce… actually I can. I probably would have done the same thing sooner or later to make sure you wouldn't attack me if I left."

"You would have done the same…?" Conner asks, his eyes widening and his eyebrows coming together in confusion.

"Wait a minuet! Bruce … as in _the_ Bruce Wayne? Is Batman? _The_ Batman? Are you serious?" Blaze shouts from the doorway, crumbling the atmosphere in the room to shreds in her hysterics.

"Smooth Tianna. Smooth," DS says, leaning against the door frame completely unmoved by the news.

"Did you know?" I ask DS. She shook her head, her face still expressionless.

"Of course she didn't! _I_ didn't even know! I mean, good freaking God BATMAN. Is.. is… ohmygod," Blaze vented to the world.

"Shout any louder and the rest of Gotham might hear you," I deadpan.

"BUT HE'S-"

"-Batman, yea I got that."

"WHOSE ALSO-"

"-Bruce Wayne, I understand."

"BUT THAT'S-"

"-Crazy, I know."

Blaze crosses her arms over her chest and shuts her jaw tight. "Fine, be that way about my life changing news."

I turn myself back to Dinah. "So Bruce set it up for me. When?"

"Three months ago," Conner answers unashamed.

_Three months. Three. _"Okay," I swallow. "Anything else you want to add?"

Conner glances to Dinah. "Wha'd you mean? Aren't you mad? Don't you want to go screaming over to Batman?"

I force a very fine smile over my face. "Oh I'm mad. I'm very mad. And I've just lost respect of every member in the Justice League. I'm just going to act professionally so Bruce has nothing to use against me in the future. Good night."

Conner looks shocked. "Goodnight? Jezebelle we're not done. Tomorrow we all have to go and visit the League to get you officially in the team! You can't just be okay with this, I know you!"

"Know me?" I ask turning to him disbelief warming my voice. "For three months you have been spying on me and you think you_ know me_?" I laugh sourly and Conner's face dulls to unreadable. "No Conner, you don't know me. We've just barely met. And now I'm tired. I want to go to bed."

"But what about tomorr-"

"GET out." I shoot my hand to the doorway and Conner's cut off from his last sentence with a small grimace on his mouth. "Now."

Conner turns around without a word to the door. He stops at the doorway and turns back to me, his expression worried and pleading. "Jez, you-"

"It's Miss Alarico, Kent. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight."

He stares at the side of my face for a moment more before exiting out of the door. Karina, Dinah, DS and blaze let him walk through, their faces blank and their opinions silent. "And that means you too Canary," I don't look at Dinah, but I feel her gaze snap to my face. "I'll be seeing you tomorrow."

"Jezebelle-"

"JUST!" I yell over her voice, stopping her. "-get out… Just get the hell out of my house." I turn my back on her and my voice gets softer. "Tianna and Mia, you're dismissed for the night, I'll see you tomorrow. Karina, I'll see you first thing in the dinning room."

"Mistress-"

"Boss Lady-"

"Goodnight," I say, my statement cold and final. "See you tomorrow."

No one moves, so I take the first step. I walk out of the room and into the bathroom. I turn on the shower and let hot water steam the room. The bedroom door closes from outside before the steam has reached all the corners of the bathroom. I undress and step into the searing water. Water pounds into my skin, and releases my tears. _This is reality. This is your family. This is you. Suck it up._

* * *

><p>The next morning, I got up, got dressed, met with Karina for today's schedule, met with Blaze and DS before they went off to Sir's training in an old warehouse in East Gotham and locked all of my emotions into a sealed jar. Last night was over and so were my tears, fears and betrayal.<p>

Today, I would start over and I would set the standards for the chess game of the Justice League. Last night had shown me who I could trust and who I couldn't and my mind was made up. Those who were part of the League couldn't be trusted, they had an agenda of their own. They might help the people, but they weren't _for_ the people, they had showed me that.

I threw on a black heavy trench coat that stopped in the middle of my skinny jeaned thighs. Black, high heeled, ankle boots covered the ends of my jeans and I got an umbrella before I made my way to the garage.

"You don't have a license to drive yet," Karina called out to me from behind.

"I'll see you tonight Karina. Don't wait up." I closed the door behind me from the house to the garage and I flipped the lights on. A huge open space greets me, filled with hardware tech and a few cars here and there. Beside the door of the garage is a board with keys hanging above white labels. _Yamaha Ninja_ jumps out at me and I smile a little vindictively. _I've never ridden a motorcycle before. This should be fun._

I grab the keys off of the board and make my way to a sleek, shiny black, two wheeled death trap. "Definitely gonna be an interesting day."

* * *

><p>Conner got off the phone with Dick after he had left Jezebelle's house later that night. His head was turning and his stomach had an odd falling sensation whenever he thought about Jezebelle. Man, he had really messed up everything. He had envisioned telling her the news of his assignment in a hundred different circumstances. Not one of them ended with her banishing him out of her room. Not one of them told him the guilty feeling that would weigh his mind every time he looked at the 'S' shaped symbol on his chest.<p>

He had messed up royally and even Dick knew it. After hanging up with Dick, Conner also knew something else. Dick didn't seem to upset that Jezebelle was mad at him. He didn't really even comment on it. He didn't know what it meant, but his gut feeling was telling him that Dick didn't want to hear about Conner's love life at that point. Then again, Conner didn't even know if he _had_ a love life at this point. Considering the night he just went through, he was wondering if he had just gotten dumped.

One thing did come out of the whole night though. He had found news for the League. The war going on in his mind was still considering if it was a good thing or not, but overall, he had gotten news to the League. IT was worse than what Batman had first thought. If it was true she could do what she thought she could, not only was she a danger, she was _in_ danger.

If villains knew she could make them immortal… well Conner shook his head at the oncoming images assaulting his head. It would just be… it would be bad.

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><p><strong>YAY CHAPTER 31!<strong>

**UP NEXT: Meeting Megan, Glaring at Batman, and causing a scandal. **

**WHEW... sorry for the delay guys, been a crazy couple of weeks. Got into my school play, got tons of freaking homework and a shiz-ton of extrac curricular stuff. But i managed to fit this in with everything :) I'll try to update a bit faster next time.**

**~Missmusicluver**


	32. Chapter 32

**Well I really wanted to put the whole section of my idea into one chapter, and it ended up being really, really, reaallly long. 14,000 words long, so beware. Then again, if you like really long chapters, this one's for you!**

**My favorite parts is the ending :) Hope you guys like it too. **

**DISCLAIMER: Anything DC comics already owns, I don't. It's all theirs those geniuses. **

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><p>"Recognizing Red Butterfly C-01," a mechanical voice echoed out in front of 'Mt. Justice'. The eye scanner turned off and a metal wall fell away from the side of the mountain in front of me. The ground lowered and a concrete floor peaked upwards from the bottom. I walk away from the scanner and into the open doorway. Side lights on the wall blink continuously and I walk into a long concrete hallway. <em>For being one of the most important Hero societies in the world, you'd thing they could invest in a little interior decorating.<em> At the end of the hallway stood a gray colored metal door with a blue screen on the front. I stop in front of the screen and touch the fingerprint analysis touchscreen. Immediately, Batman's face pops up and his whited out eyes stare at me without emotion present.

"Red Butterfly," he states.

"Present." I feel last night's anger rise in my veins, but I push it down with a blink of my eyes. I could handle whatever he through at me, I wasn't a danger, I was better than that. I would be in control and I would show Bruce- Batman that.

The screen dissolves in the air and the metal door slides into the wall, opening me into another hallway, this one with gray touched glass and deep red walls around me. It looked a little classy. _This is what I'm talking about._ I keep walking and another door opens to a huge room. The walls where brown like the side of the mountain, but panels of silver ran around, shaping the room to be more circular than a regular square shaped room. In the middle of the room was a large blueish-whiteish-silverish circle. And on that big ole circle was the Young Justice.

Aqualad, Robin, Kid Flash, Artemis, Miss Martian, Flash-Fire, Zatanna and Superboy. I had seen their faces on TV, heard of their fan clubs around even in Bolivia, but for me, it was the first time really seeing the Jr team other than when I had saved them back in Gotham eight months ago. Their gazes watch me as I walk closer to the waiting group. I force my face to become blank, and my eyes focused on a point of a wall somewhere behind Robin's head.

Batman, Black Canary, and Superman stood dressed in their costumes side by side. Seeing Batman for the first time since him carrying my bloody body into his car made me walk a little straighter. I knew who he was and just how powerful the man was in and out of costume. Dinah was next to him in fishnets and leather jacket like I had seen her in the cages, but I had never seen Superman before. He stood massively tall and wide, his muscles clearly shown in his spandex like suit. His glasses were absent and his hair hung in front of his face without the slick gel that he wore as Clark Kent. The one other adult hero present in the room was Red Tornado and he stood to the side of the group, all of their gazes watching my entrance as well. I felt like a bug under a microscope.

I stop at the edge of the blue looking circle, and I put my hands on my hips. "I'm here."

Zatanna's face scrunches up like a candy wrapper. "Congratulations, gold star for you."

I glance at her and look her up and down. "I don't need a gold star to make myself look more appropriated _Zee-Zee_. Take a step backwards before I make you. I've had it up to here with heroes, no matter _who._" I look away from Zatanna and my gaze ends on Conner and then Dick at my last words. Conner had the decency to look a little ashamed, but Dick just stared through me like I wasn't there.

"Enough," Batman orders; my eyes snapping to him and narrowing in distaste. _Calm down, you're letting him win._

I lose the anger and push down all the angry and possibly inappropriate retorts that came to my mind. I put a hand to my forehead, playing at a bad headache. "Sorry," I mutter sighing slowly. "Bad night." I look up and Abby's eyes glue themselves to mine. She watches me blink at her, unmoved that she was present and the unnamed emotion behind her eyes dies like a blown out candle.

"It's a good thing you showed up, after last night I had doubted that you would," Dinah/ Black Canary says from beside Batman, on the Leagues side. _Not your friend, not an attachment you can afford. Let it go._

"I said I would show, so I came," I answer calmly.

I cross my hands over my chest comfortably and walk into the blue circle with everyone else. My foot hits the bottom of the blue circle and a loud feminine voice announces my name as the blue circle beneath my feet spells my name out on the floor. _It's a holograph floor. _ My eyebrows rise. _Damn that would have cost a lot of pretty pennies._ I look up and pointedly gaze at Batman's covered face. "Nice."

Batman doesn't answer, but Conner takes the opportunity to come forwards from the group. Miss Martian/ Megan watches him move away and her hands clench into fists. Her eyes move to mine, and when she sees me watching her, a small blush crosses her green tinted cheeks. I try not to think of Megan as Miss Martian being the same person at the all too familiar reaction and I look away without a word.

"Then let's get started," Conner put his hands in his pockets and the rest of the Young Justice team stood behind him, looking tall and important.

I squish the urge to snort. "Actually I'm only here to say goodbye." I smile pleasantly and put my hands behind my back.

Confusion crosses Conner's face and Kid Flash turns to Artemis to a whispered conversation. _Note to self, learn lip reading as fast as possible._ Dinah's eyes flashed to Superman, then Batman, and Megan looks to Zatanna as if they were having a secret mental conversation. Abby remains frozen, cautious of what was coming next and Aqualad watched me as if evaluating me in a third person. My pleasant smile stayed stitched to my face.

"W-What?" Conner says taken back in shock.

"Goodbye."

"_What?"_

I roll my eyes. "Honestly Conner, come on now. I've said it twice already."

"But… But why? What do you mea-? Where are you going?"

I look around the large room. "Work probably. And then to train, and then back to work. I have a lot to do."

Conner looked more confused than ever. "But what about joining the team?"

I raise my eyebrows. "What team?" I ask innocently. I look around, theatrics pumping my blood pressure upwards. "Oh this team?" I ask, looking around. "The team that handed me over almost literally into Andres's hands?" I ask. "The team that went behind my back?" I smile, and Conner's confused expression changed into guarded. "The team that not only keeps secrets from the outside world, but each other?" I tip my head at Dick and Zatanna's eyes flash. Megan looks oddly guilty and Aqualad's evaluating expression turns guarded too. I don't look to the adults to see what their facial expressions show me. I laugh lightly, filled with sarcasm. I look down and look up again straight at Conner. "I'll pass. The number of betrayals in my life has added up enough thanks."

Dick/Robin stepped forwards spandex and all and set his arms across his chest angrily. "Then why are you here if you've already decided on this? To get back at us all? To make yourself feel better?" His voice lowers dangerously. "That's pathetic."

Dick's words hit against me like open razors and a sick falling in my stomach almost makes me take a step backwards from him. I change my gaze to him and push away the nauseating pit settled at the bottom of my heart. "Well _Robin_, I wanted to see the famous _Young_ Justice League hangout for myself. I admit, it's a lot less cooler than I thought it would be."

"Sorry to disappoint."

I grin venomously. "Don't be. I'm not. I got to actually see the place." I wink at him. "Next place is the world's largest ball of yarn."

"Are you acting like this because of last night?" Conner asks, stopping my tirade.

I glance at him dryly and nod. "Partly." Conner narrows his eyes, caught between shock and annoyance. I look to Batman, Black Canary and Superman and they stare back at me with mixed expressions. Superman with confusion and annoyance, Dinah with glinting anger, and Batman with no emotion at all. "And partly because I figured out that I really don't actually need to be a part of this." I stare back to Dick. "At first, I thought it would be better and mostly safer to be in bigger numbers. That the Justice League could be better for me over all, but last night-"

"Last night was a mistake," Dinah interrupts.

"Last night was a wakeup call." I look to Batman. Then down and away. "Something I should have seen a long time ago." The sinking pit in my heart sinks farther and I put my hands in my trench coat pockets. I sigh. "All right, well, I think it's time for me to go." I turn on my heel and walk out of the blue circle.

"Is that it?" Conner's voice calls out from behind me.

I stop and look over my "Between you and me Kent? Definitely."

Megan's green eyes narrow and her red lips press together like she was holding back an outburst. A sudden headache wraps itself around my front temple. I wince at the heat, but look on continuously. Conner crosses his hands over his chest. "Thanks for clearing that up Jez, but no, I meant is that all you're going to do here. Are you going to just leave like that?"

"Like this?" I turn and walk a couple more steps away. The headache immediately goes away. _That wasn't normal. _I look back at him. "Definitely. Why wouldn't I?" I look around the room, at every hero in turn. Megan met my eyes with an edged glare. "What? No takers?" I shrug my shoulders indifferently. _Well, there's your answer. _"Then there are no reasons to stay." I turn back to the door and keep walking, my mind made up for sure now. My test over with, my resolve sound.

"You need us," Abby/Flash-fire says from the hero group behind me.

I don't stop walking. "I thought I did Abby." I raise my voice. "Then again, maybe you haven't noticed, but I'm doing fine all by my lonely self and I have been for quite a while."

"Miranda didn't do so fine."

I stop in my tracks, a hair away from the door and turn to Batman. He stands silently, observing quietly, like he hadn't just said a name that spiked my blood pressure. I stand completely still, shocked and angry that he had hit a nerve. Me stopping hadn't been on purpose, it had been an automatic response, and he had caught me in it.

I turn around and the eyes of the heroes land on my face. I don't let emotion betray me. "True." I tip my head to the side slightly. "One point to Batman." I look to Dinah and then to the entire group of younger heroes. "You ever need me. You know where to call me." I open the metal door and exit without another word, turning my back and letting their expressions pass over me without thinking them over.

"Goodbye!" Megan calls after the closing door with annoying perkiness. _So she's not happy with me either. Oh joy._

I leave knowing the security cameras are trained on my face and movements, but I can't help the irrational impulse to lift my hand to the three cameras as I leave the grounds around Mt. Justice.

I lift my middle finger to the training cameras and smile prettily as I get back on my motorcycle.

* * *

><p>I pull over to the side of a small café when I can't seem to shake him off my tail. I turn off the motorcycle, and take off my helmet. The wind catches my hair and I push it out of my face hurriedly. "What do you want Kent?" I call out, knowing he's pulled up behind me in his own motorcycle.<p>

"I just want to talk." He comes up from behind me and stands beside my motorcycle hands in his pockets.

I lean back in the seat of the two-wheeler and sigh. "About what?"

"About… just everything. You, the team, the mission, the powers… us…"

"Us?" I ask looking up at him. Raven colored hair tosses in front of his eyes, and the wind catches his shirt, pulling it tight over his tall frame. I put my helmet on the seat and look him up and down. "What 'us' Conner? There wasn't an 'us'. There was an 'I think I like you so let's kiss once' kind of 'us', but there never really was a complete 'us'." I shake my head.

Conner glances down at the sidewalk and the clouds above us start to send down droplets of rain. I look up when a drop hits the edge of my nose. "There could be Jez. We both felt it and knew what it meant. We could still be an 'us'."

I look up at Conner and watch as rain seems to start pouring from the clouds over the both of us. Rain soaks my coat and drenches Conner's thin black t-shirt. The shirt clings to his skin and before I can look away, his shirt is soaked to his chest, showing all the fine lines of his body. A laugh bubbles up from the hallow feeling in my chest. "God, don't you ever wear anything else other than black t-shirts?"

The rain drowns part of my voice, but Conner seems to hear it and grins. "Wouldn't attract you if I wore anything else in the rain now would I?" his voice rises over the pounding rain.

I fight a smile and shake my wet head. Strands of hair hit my face and I look up at the crying sky.

"Come on-"I look back down and Conner holds his hand out to me. "-let's get inside before the rain drowns both of us."

I look down at my wet trench coat and nod. I pull myself off the shiny black two-wheeler and Conner takes my hand. I let him pull me to the street corner café in front of us. The rain hails down on us, blinding me from all sides. Conner guides me around the street corner and my toe stubs itself on a lose cobblestone. I fall forwards and slam into a smaller body.

"AHH-OUCH!" a young girl's voice screams out. Conner releases my hand and I fall to the ground. Small puddles soak the rest of my coat. "Oh, look at what you've done to my- Oh my goodness! You're that girl from the paper! You're Jezebelle Alarico!"

I look up into brown eyes, pixie short brown hair and heavily penciled eyebrows. "I- sorry- excuse me, I didn't mean to-"

"Oh man are you okay? I am _so_ sorry, I just wasn't watching where I was-"Her hands grab my wrists and pull me upwards. Rain pounds on us and drowns out her voice. "-and all of a sudden rains just coming down like not tomorrow and-"

"Jez, are you okay?!" Conner's back at my side and pulling me away from the shorter young women. If anything, I'd say she was twenty four to twenty five.

"I-yea Conner I'm fine!" I yell over the pounding.

The shorter girl looks between the both of us. "Are you with her? I'm so sorry I just thought-"

"It's fine, thanks for helping, we've gotta go-!" he yelled back over the rain. Conner didn't wait and took me by the tops of my arms. He covered my body with his from the rain and guided me into the café. Warm air hits me like a blanket and covers me from head to toe. Conner leads me deeper into the warm room and a flash of wooden floors, a large fireplace, worn wooden tables and chalk boards behind a round dark marble serving counter flashes by me. I shiver and Conner sets me down on a wooden stool next to the large fireplace.

I pull off my coat and set it on the ground at my feet, shivering. Conner's gone from my side and I turn my body to the fire, wringing out my hair. A few people in the corners of the café look at me in pity from my peripheral vision. I ignore them and viciously try to rub warmth into my hands from my wet jeans.

"Hey you okay?" Conner says coming to my right and handing me a white mug with stream rising from the top.

I grab for the warmth greedily and Conner wraps an old blue towel around my shoulders. I look at the towel and the coffee. "W-W-Where'd you get-"

Conner sits across from me and takes his own green tinted towel across his skin and shirt. "The owner saw us coming in and handed it to me when I ordered the hot chocolate."

I look down at the cup in my hands and shiver again. I sip the drink and scalding milk chocolate runs across my tongue. I breathe in quickly and Conner grins. "Don't drink too fast."

I swallow the pain back. "Just hot."

He grins again and takes a sip of his own hot chocolate unfazed.

I grimace and sent a small part of healing to the top of my tongue. "Ass-hat."

The top of Conner's smile hikes up a little higher. "That's not a real word."

I rub the towel against the wet fabric and shake out my hair. Conner leans back in his stood from the wet drop that come flying from my head. "Yes it is."

"No, no it's defiantly not."

"Just because you don't use it doesn't mean it isn't real."

"But I know the difference between made up words and words in the dictionary."

"Fascist."

He grins and takes another sip of his hot chocolate. "So about the meeting." I look up at him and the warm feelings growing in my stomach from the hot chocolate go cold. Conner raises his hands in surrender. "I'm not trying to corner you into telling me what's on your mind or what you're going to do next. I just want to make sure you're okay. That you know what you're doing."

My eyes drop to my mug. He looked sincere or about as sincere as I've ever seen Conner, which wasn't a lot. "I know what I'm doing."

Conner leans forwards and looks closely as my downcast face. "Are you sure?"

I look away from the cup and to the fireplace at the tall flames. "Yea Conner, I'm sure." My answer didn't sound as confident as I wanted; I actually sounded a little tired in my answer and I knew Conner was going to jump on the opening.

He didn't let me down. "Jezebelle… Jez look at me." I stare into the flames. I really didn't want to do this right now. "Jez. …. Jez!"

I look up to him, the flames on the fireplace making red designs across his face and wet hair. "What. What Conner? What do you want me to say?"

"I want you to tell me the truth."

"Oh like you did?"

"You know I had a reason for not telling."

"No, you had a choice for not telling me _all_ of the truth. That is considered a lie."

"I didn't mean to lie to you."

"But you did."

"Jez, if I could take it back I would-"

"Well you can't start again."

Conner looks away, shaking his head. "What do you want me to say?"

"You can't copy my questions Kent. Try again."

Conner sets the cup down and links his fingers together with his elbows on his knees. "Jez I just want-"

"It is still Miss Alarico to you."

Conner seems taken back for a second before he looks away and nods his head. "So I'm not forgiven. You're back to hating me."

"I've never hated you Conner, we both know that."

"Then you dislike me."

"I don't dislike you."

"But you don't… like me."

My shoulders sag against the sudden weight that collapses against me. _And this is why you don't get yourself into relationships. It's messy and you get distracted._ "Are we talking about our friendship or our relationship right now Conner?"

"Both," he says.

I sigh. "Conner-"

Conner interrupts. "I know our relationship is over Je- Miss Alarico. I … understand that."

I look up, and look into his eyes, resisting the urge to stretch and yawn. "Then what do you _want_ Conner?"

Conner picks up his mug. "I wanna make sure you're _safe_."

"I'm fine."

"Je- Miss Alarico!"

I snort unladly-like and collapse my hands in my lap tiredly. "Just Jezebelle Conner. You can call me Jezebelle. After everything between you and me, Miss Alarico just doesn't have a ring to it when you say it."

Conner breathes in deep like he was controlling his emotions. "Okay, Jezebelle. Stop playing with me and tell me what… what's going on."

My hair curls in the warm heat of the fire and the left side of my body has warmed up. I stand up and point to Conner. "Switch."

Conner stands up. "What?"

"Switch seats, now you can dry your left side and I can dry my right. Switch."

I sit down in Conner's stool and he sits down across from me in mine, a little bemused. _So what is going on? What do I tell him now? What do I __**do**__ now? _"Conner, I like you." Conner's face lit up a little and his eyes open wider. "But I don't want a relationship with you." Conner's excitement dies. "I think that's you are a special guy, probably made hand in hand for a really special girl, but, I don't think that girl is me."

Conner stays silent and watches me look up into him.

"I still want you to be in my life though Conner that much I do know. The last month with you being in Bolivia with me has shown me how much I like having you around me and being that solid rock to bring back down to the land of the world outside of business. I like you and your weird sense of humor, your eyes, your laugh, your smile; I like it all." I glance away behind me at the customers behind us. The women I had bumped into was sitting off to the side, playing with her phone. "But … the trust that I had with you is gone."

"Gone?" Conner repeats.

I nod. "Mostly."

Conner leans forwards again, his elbows on his knees. "And there's nothing I can do to get it back?"

"There's nothing you or Dick can do to bring it back."

"Dick?" Something flashes over Conner's face, but it's gone too fast for me to recognize what it could have been.

"Or Bruce or Dinah," I continue on, letting it slide. "I put too much blind faith and trust into people I didn't really know. And I wasn't watching my back… I was being stupid and naive to think that people would stand with me even though-"

"Jez, you have to trust people to get to know them. It comes with the territory, trust me I know."

"And what would happen if you found out that that trust had been betrayed?" I ask him. "What would _you_ do then?"

Conner looks down, catching on to my meaning. "Just come back to the team. Abby misses you like crazy. You were there one day with her and gone the next. She thought you would come to Miranda's funeral at least, but you never showed u-"

"Miranda had a funeral?" I ask looking up in surprise.

Conner crunches his eyebrows together. "Of course she did. Abby, Megan, me, Duncan... the whole cheer team and all of Miranda's class came. A couple of neighbors showed too." Conner stared into my eyes. "But you never did…"

"I was probably in Mexico or Panama by that time."

Conner nods. "That's what Dick thought too."

"Dick?"

Conner shrugs a shoulder. "Bruce financed the funeral didn't he? Dick was pulled along for a business day I guess, but he was there. There was a big blown up picture of Miranda there and there were white roses everywhere. Abby was nearly in hysterics. She needed you then and she needs you there now."

"She has her family. She doesn't need anything else."

"Her parents split."

"What?!" I look up to Conner sharply. No way, the wholesome American family couldn't be spilt up. Abby was their only child and both parents loved her more than sometimes I cared to really examine. "That can't be true, they were-"

"-Having issues Jezebelle. All families do. They just couldn't get through there's."

"When did this… happen?"

"Six months ago? Five?" About the time she joined the team."

My hands rub together and a sinking dread fills my chest. _I left so much behind. So many things I kept abandoned._ Guilt weighed my heart, and I swallow to push the pain coming up my throat. "How is she?"

Conner shrugs. "As good as anyone can admit I would guess. She's living at Mt. Justice until she picks who she wants to really live with."

"Oh, that's going to be fun."

Conner shrugs his shoulders again. "Yea, but she's positive. She doesn't need a lot to be happy. She's even dating Kaldur."

My jaw drops and shock hits me like a brick wall. "W-What!? Kaldur? But she's fire and he's… he's…"

"Yea, kinda weird how the world spins round huh?" Conner asks smiling at the corners of his mouth.

I lean my elbows on my knees and lean closer to Conner, shaking my head in wonder. "Wow, I missed out on a lot…"

Conner smiles lightly and for a moment, I realize just how close we are. Leaning into each other on our elbows, only a couple of inches separating us. I look down and away. _That's over. Move on to the next chapter in your life. You've already been through this. You don't need another complication in your life right now._

Conner's voice comes out lower than normal. "You missed out on a lot, but you also got a lot getting away from everything. I even got to keep a little piece of that experience with me from you."

I turn my head to him, and my nose lightly touches his face suddenly so close to me. I open my mouth, but Conner is already closing the inches between us. His lips touch mine and his hand wraps around the back of my head, holding me close to him. His heat spreads across my lips and cheeks and down to my stomach. I don't respond to his kiss, but lean backwards after a shocked moment.

But Conner's already releasing me and standing up. "Good bye Jezebelle. I hope you come back to the team and see Abby. But it's not just her you could end up helping. You could help the rest of the world too." Conner picks up the green towel that was around his shoulders and walks away to the counter were he paid for the hot chocolate. He drops off the towel and waves to me once before opening the door and exiting the café to his motorcycle in the rain.

My hands still clutch the white mug and I set it down on the ground at my feet. The feel of Conner's lips was still etched in my memory, replaying over and over again like a replay button stuck down with ducted-tape. I wait for a tingle of warmth to engulf my stomach like what happened the last time I had kissed Conner, but nothing happens. I was having as much of a physical reaction as kissing a warm piece of plastic.

There was no feeling behind his kiss now, it was empty. _Could feelings really disappear that quickly?_ I stand up from the small stool and pick up the damp towel from the floor. _It wasn't even two days ago that you thought you liked him. Gone that fast? All the feelings had for him? What's wrong with me?_

I drop the towel off at the counter with the cash register who looked up at me with heavily hooded eyes. It was an old man, I was guessing sixty to sixty five years old and he stood up at three inches shorter than me. I passed the material to him with a small smile. "Thanks for the towel. I really appreciate the help."

The old man grins and nods. He looks to a silver photograph on the counter and I see a small black and white picture of a young couple. One tall very built young man with a shorter girl around in his arms with long dark auburn hair and green eyes. I look up at the old man and his grins goes soft. "The two a' ya' remind me of me an' my wife when we were young." He looks at me closely. "Ya' almost have the same colored eyes, you and my Maggie."

I can't but help to smile softly. "How long have you been married?"

He smiles. "Fifty two years last week."

"Wow, more than half a century worth of love," I say.

"She would 'ave loved to hear ya' say that," the man smiles in memory.

"She around? I'll tell her myself for you," I smile, thinking of how many problems and tough times they must have endured together.

The man smiles again. "That's nice of ya', but my Maggie is restin her head in God's lap at the moment."

I feel my smile fall from my face. _Love can only endure for so long then, no matter how long it's been held together. _"I'm sorry."

His smile turns a little wistful. "Don't be little lady, one day I'll see her again and even heaven will remember our reunion." He nods his head to the fireplace when I don't say anything back. "You take care o' your young man. It looks like he'll need ya' from the look in his eyes."

I turn my head to the fireplace, before turning back to the man. _He's talking about Conner. _I smile apologetically. "He's not mine, I don't think he ever was."

"Oh?" the old man asks. "The young lad sittin wit' ya' at the fireplace wasn't yours?"

I shake my head. "I think he thought I was his, but I don't think he was listening to what he really needed from his heart."

"In love with another pretty lady then?"

I smile and sigh. "I don't think he even knows. All that I'm sure of is he's not mine. No one is."

The old man looks up at me with faintly amused hooded eyes. "I think it's high time ya' listen to ya' own heart little lady. I think it's speakin to ya', ya' just ain't listenin." He taps the space over his heart on his chest. "Listen to ya' heart like me and my Maggie did, that's all I can tell ya' little lady."

I smile touches my face and I pull out a credit card from my trench coat over my arm. I look up and order five chocolate chip cookies. _Sir won't approve. … Ah fug it._ The old man gives me the cookies in a small bag and I place it in the trench coat. I draw cash and put twenty dollars in the tip jar. The old man doesn't see me place the contribution, already moving on to another customer. I put on my damp coat and head out into the rain. Cold wind and rain slams into me, making me regret ever coming out in the first place and I put my helmet, still sitting on my seat, and start my _Ninja_ _Yamaha_.

Rain soaks my half dry clothes and I race off down the middle of the street, unaware of the camera phone trained on my back.

* * *

><p>"So you wanted one 64 Giga bite iphone 5, one Bluetreck Bluetooth, and one pair of Shure SE535 headphones?" the AT&amp;T lady asks me. She was Hispanic with large brown eyes, and straight black hair that A-lined to her chin.<p>

"Yea. That's it, no don't put it in a bag, I want to start it all now and get it running before I leave this store."

The lady nods. "You're total comes out to $813.23." I hand her my credit card and she swipes it across her scanner. Her eyes pop when my name comes across the screen and she looks back at me as if impossibly impressed. "Miss Alarico."

I look at her name tag. "Mrs. Anhelio." She blushes a faint color of pink that contrasts horribly with her dark green eye shadow. She hands me all three of my new items. "Can you get this started for me? I have to make several calls in a couple of minuets."

She looks apologetic. "I'm sorry; I don't have that kind of authority. Your phone plan won't start for another three hours."

I smile. "Get me your manager, I'm sure we can get this settled."

Her smile vanishes, but she nods and goes into the back. A moment later a short, balding man came out of the back room with her, already looking me up and down. I could guess that he didn't think much of me with my drenched hair, dripping coat and wet bottomed high heels. He put his nose in the air distastefully. "Can I help you _ma'am_?"

I look down at the short man, faking amusement like I see other high society socialist girls in the movies. "Yes, you can speed up my calling plan. I need it now. Not in three hours."

"I'm sorry Mrs-"

"It's Miss," I interrupt him thinly.

The green eye shadowed lady smirks behind her hand. "Miss then," the short man says. He squints at the screen. "Miss-" his eyebrows came up. "Oh Miss Alarico! I apologize, I had no idea-"

"It's fine, Mrs. Anhelio was taking good care of me. Can we get my order cleared now then, I am in a hurry."

The short man seemed to shake his shoulders to make himself taller. "Of course, I will go make a few phone calls to get it taken care of. If you'll excuse me," he nodded his head respectfully and left importantly with his balding head shining under the florescent lights.

I turn to the young woman at the counter. "And you deal with that every day?"

The older woman shrugs indifferently. "It's not so bad. Sometimes he's a real pain, but I'm only here until I graduate collage."

"Gotham University?" I ask.

She nods. "I'm majoring in Criminal Justice."

I raise my eyebrows. "Wow, and you got in _here_ for a side job?" The balding man comes out from the side room, and I meet the young woman's eyes. "You ever want anything better than this, let me know. I'm building a multimillion dollar industry. I can't promise riches beyond imagination, but I can guarantee a job if you ever need it."

The woman looks shocked. "For me? But-"

"I like your attitude and honesty." I shrug. "Besides, I'm going to need people in Criminal Justice if I plan on being a power house for the northern hemisphere." I smile at her and her eyes widen. "Think on it will you?"

"I don't graduate for three months-"

"Offer's still up."

The balding man stops at my side and looks at the young woman with a disgusted look. "Back to work _chica."_

The young woman's eyes narrow and her face turns to me. "Give me a time and a place. I'll be there."

I smile a little vindictively at the open curiosity and shock the balding man was having towards his employee at not paying him attention. "Tomorrow, as soon as you get out of school. Southern Gotham at the corner of 7th and Maine. I want you dressed in whatever proper attire you think is passable for a Criminal Justice executive and then I want you to sign in on the seventh floor with Karina."

"After school, dress attire, 7th and Maine, Karina; got it."

I smile. "See you there." I turn to the small man. "Have you got it all covered then?"

His eyes follow the young woman as she walks to the back counter collecting her things. "I- well yes. All taken care of. Is there a reason you were having a conversation with-" he looks up to me and stops.

"I was unaware I wasn't _allowed_ to talk to your employees."

He blanches. "No! Not at all, I only meant-"

Mrs. Anhelio walks by the both of us in a rain coat and large purse at her elbow. She nods to me respectfully and looks to the shorter ma with the same distaste he showed her only minuets ago. "I quit. Have a nice day."

I pick up my small boxes and remove the iphone, headphones, and Bluetooth from their packages. I place the iphone into my pocket, the headphones and Bluetooth into my other pocket. I grab my credit card off the counter and say thanks to the balding man a little too perky before entering back into the rain. The pounding of water had slowed to a drizzle, but it was enough to soak me when I got back on the motorcycle.

I can say I felt a little smug after leaving like that.

* * *

><p>"Hello?" I answer the soft ringing of my phone. I had barely had it for two hours, and I hadn't told anyone I had gotten it yet. In fact, I hadn't even really looked at it. I was kind of in the middle of something. I place the phone to my ear, having not yet added the Bluetooth to it.<p>

"Where are you?" the voice is definitely male. Young, deep, but not throaty like a regular man.

"Who the hell are _you_?" I whisper, keeping my eyes on the exchange under me.

"Why are you whispering?" the male asks. "And _where the hell are you_?"

"Oh for god's sake." I pull the red mark across the screen and I hang up on whoever called. I lower my phones volume to vibrate. I look down at the drug exchange going on below me and look for the gleam of brimmed glasses. _Where are you… I know you're here somewhere… where are-_

My phone vibrates.

I pick it up and the same number flashes across the screen. I put the phone to my ear. "Yes?" I whisper.

"Jezebelle, it's Dick."

"Oh, hi Dick. Can you call me back later?"

"Can I- No! Jez you have to get back to base. Dinah's going crazy. She's worried that-"

"Dick I am in the _middle_ of something right now. Call back _later_."

"…Jezebelle why are you in Crime Alley?"

I almost gasp out at the phone outraged. "Dick freakin Grayson are you _tracking_ me?"

"Don't avoid the question Alarico. What are you _doing_ in Crime Alley? Signing yourself for a death warrant?"

"What, do you think you're the only one that can go running around with criminals without getting the shiz kicked out of you?"

"Jezebelle! Stop-"

"What- What was that?" one of the five thugs says from under me. I press my lips together tightly. Crap.

"I-Is it Batman?" a thicker one asks, automatically stepping back.

"Batman only comes out at night idiot! No, it's gotta be someone else. Spread out! Find who it is, and bring me his ears!" a deeper voice, the head boss of the three thugs to the right, stopping their drug exchange with the two on the left.

"Shit. Dammit Dick, I gotta go."

"Jezebelle what are you-" I hang up for the second time and jump silently out of the broken window into the outside wind and drizzle.

"On the roof! On the roof! I just saw him!" one of the thugs says below me. I grimace. I didn't have any of my equipment, and I was in civvies. Not the smartest way to go when investigating.

But then again, I had thought that I had recognized the thug from the cages. I was walking out of a small shop in downtown Gotham when a bulky thug walked past me with a smaller thug at his side, both grinning. I heard their conversation as they pass and I hear him mention to his little friend something about a Deckins. Dr. Deckins. My mind went to the doctor who had supplied me with Miranda's medicine and I immediately started following the guy. Then that thug led me here, stuck on a roof in high heels in the middle of Crime Alley with the sun going down.

Once again, not the smartest thing to do when everyone now knows what your face looks like.

"Dammit Dick. How the hell did you even get my number?"

Heavy footsteps from behind me come closer and I know they're on the staircase to the roof. I look over the edge of the building and make a quick assessment at the jump to the floor. I was guessing at roughly four to five stories. Too far to jump without assistance.

My phone rings again. I fight back the urge to groan in exasperation. I pull out my phone and answer pleasantly. Oh, what do you know, it was Dick. Again. "Hello?"

"To the left of you there is a cable line. Take the coat and use it as a glider. You will land on the second story building next to you. From there, there will be a fire escape you can go down. Hurry, you're at approximately 30 seconds."

I spy the cable cord on the other side of the roof. I run to it with the phone still to my ear. "How can you see me? Are you here?" I glance around and take off my trench coat.

"No. Do you have a Bluetooth with you?"

"Yes, but where are y-"

"What kind?" I throw my trench coat over the cable cord.

"Bluetrack. Hold on a sec." I throw myself off the side of the building. The drizzle and wind catches my hair, but the cable cord holds my weight and the trench coat holds me as I slide down the line to the oncoming rooftop. I get over the edge of the opposite roof top and let go of the left side of my trench coat. I drop to the ground, but I hold my phone close to my chest and I roll myself to my feet. I don't let the momentum catch up to me and I start sprinting to the rusty brown railings at the edge of the roof. I put the phone back to my ear. "Sorry, I'm back. You were saying?"

"Get the Bluetooth out. Press the middle of the button and tell me when it starts blinking red."

I follow his instructions, all thoughts of questions and conversation gone. Blood pumped in my ears and adrenaline hit my veins hard.

"Hey! There he is- oh man the dudes a _chic_!" A thug from the roof behind me yells out.

"Get her! Don't let her get away!" the deeper, the boss, yells.

The Bluetooth starts to blink in the middle of the silver rectangle. "It's blinking!" I tell Dick through the phone. I get to the fire escape and jump on the top stair. "Now what?"

"Now press the button that you answer calls with and hold it. Get out your phone while you're doing this."

"Dick I am in the middle of-"

"I know, just do it."

I grab my phone and follow his instructions, blocking out the sounds of yelling behind me. I press the silver rectangle and the light turns blue. "It turned blue, what now?"

"Get to the setting's on your phone and look for 'pairings' on 'Bluetooth setup'." Rain continues to fall and winds whips around me. _What the flying fug was I thinking?_

I search through the phone and select one that says 'Bluetrack'. A small tab pops up and I squint my eyes past the drizzling rain. "Dick, it's asking for a pin number! What god damned pin number?" The yelling was getting closer. I glance behind me and my eyes widen. _Oh shit. _ I jumped on the ladder and start going down. "Dick!"

"Try 0000. It's the pin for 99 percent of all bluetooths."

I hit 0000 into the pin number and another tab popped up that said 'hands free connection established'. "It says my connections established."

"Good, put the Bluetooth in your ear and put your phone in your pocket." I follow his instructions, and continue to go down the stairwell as fast as possible. _Note to self: NEVER ever ever ever, EVER wear high heels when investigating again. _

I hit the bottom of the fire escape and land on the cement floor. "Can you hear me?" I ask.

"Loud and clear. Start walking forwards. On the first opening turn left. It will bring you out to-"

Clatters above me make me freeze. "She's down here! She's here!"

I don't answer Dick and start full out sprinting down the alleyway. "She's getting away! She's getting away!" I hear a man yell farther behind the first thug.

"Jezebelle cover your face!" Dick's voice rings in my ear.

"With what?" I yell into the Bluetooth.

"Anything! Make sure they don't see you!"

I look down at my dark blue shirt and unbutton the top buttons. I run into the next alleyway and unbutton the rest of my shirt. I drop my coat to the floor and pull off the dark blue shirt. I wear a thin black spaghetti strapped tank top underneath, and I thank god for small miracles. Running around in a bra would not have been my ideal hero coming out party.

I look around and find a sharp piece of metal from the bottom of a garbage can's frame. I set the shirt against the piece of sharp metal and cut the middle of the shirt. I rip the shirt the rest of the way down the middle and lift the bottom of the shirt to my face. I set the fabric against the metal tip again and cut two small eye holes in the middle of the bottom half of my old shirt. Footsteps run closer to me and I tie the mask around my face.

"You still there?" I ask.

"I can't really see you where you are. Get into a wider street so we can get a visual."

"We?" I ask. "And how are you seeing me?" I look up into the sky. "Satellite?"

"One just for the Justice League missions."

"I'm not in the Justice League."

"Not yet."

I take off my heels and place them with my coat into the nearest trash bin. "And you can see me even in the rain?"

"You're more of a heat signature we can trace off of the beat of your heart."

I turn down an alleyway. "That's creepy Dick. Creepy."

"Batman created it."

"Well that explains it then."

I hear Dick's laugh along with a couple of others in the background. "How many are watching me exactly?"

"Oh just the usual. Me, Batman, Black Canary, Superman, Miss Martian, Flash-Fire and Red Tornado."

"Oh goody." _Nice Batman jab Jezebelle. Real smooth. _

"Oh heads up. Four incoming on your next left alley," Dick says.

"Is this some sort of test?" I ask, turning to the four thugs alleyway.

"Well, if it is, you set it up Jez. You were the one that got caught by the bad guys."

I round house kick the first thug in the four head immediately knocking him out with my bare feet. I step on something sharp, but I ignore the pain. Adrenaline rushes through my veins, and I feel unstoppable. The second thug rushes to my left and pulls out a very long knife with a very pointy end. I push myself off the alley wall and jump over the third incoming thug to the second. He lunges before I land and I force myself into a roll. His knife cuts the air above my back and I land on my feet behind him. I don't wait for him to turn around and I hit him in the back of his neck before hitting him in-between his shoulder blades. He falls to his knees, the wind knocked from him and I smash the palms of my hands against his ears, shattering his ear drums. His head bobbles forwards, and I hit his temple against the side of the metal garbage container. He falls to the ground unconscious.

"Boss! Boss! She's over here! She's over-"

The third thug falls to the ground when I kick him square in the chest against the wall and his head slams against the brick sides of the alley. I turn to the last thug and instinctively lean backwards into a half backwards rainbow. A longer than normal pocket knife cuts the air above me and I push myself back on my hands into a handstand. I bend my elbows and push my body upwards and towards the thug. My feet make contact with his face and he stumbles back. He drops the knife and I land to my feet. I jump forwards off my momentum and sweep his feet out from under him. His face falls forwards into the cement and I hear the ground contact with his forehead in a nasty 'crunch'.

"13.4 seconds. Nice." Dick's voice echoes in my head.

"Anymore?" I ask, blood pumping, ready for anything.

"Six oncoming on your left. …. Four behind you… and five on the right."

"What?" I ask turning around. "I'm surrounded?"

Dinah's voice comes on. "Jezebelle get out of there. Just fight to get out and get yourself into open ground. We're coming, hold on."

I hear the footsteps of all the thugs echo across the flat spaces of the alley and I feel my stomach fall. Fifteen against one. Right. I could do this. Totally. "Yea, I'll do that," I say.

The footsteps get closer. My stomach tightens. Sweat drips into the corners of my mask forcing me to blink viciously. _Think Jezebelle. They're testing you now. Think. What can get you out of this. Trapped on all sides except up. No ladders, you can't fly, and you have no help at the moment. What do you do?_

The first thug turns the counter and spots me. "Found her! She's here! Over here! Everyone, she's over here!"

_Fifteen against one._

_For spotting on a drug deal? That doesn't make sense. Something else is going on. _ I take off at a running start to the first thug and he pulls out a gun. He aims it, and I throw myself to the side of the alley. The guns shoots off and a ricocheting bullet jumps off the alley walls. I roll across the ground and launch myself at the gun. I hit the inside of his elbow, the side of his neck and under his chin in a quick procession. The gun falls from his hand, and the gunman drops to the floor unconscious. I don't even wait for the body to fall before I take off down the alleyway.

Footsteps thunder in front of me and behind me. "Jez run! More are coming!"

"This is ridiculous! Why are they this mad about a drug deal? This makes no sense!"

Four thugs turn into the alley I'm in and stop when they see me. The three thugs in front grin viciously. "You might want to stop girly. Boss ain't too happy with you right now."

The second thug grins viciously. "What do you think Joe, heads or tails for her?"

_Heads or tails? … Oh god._

"Two-Face! Jezebelle get _out_ of there!" Dick's voice yells, confirming my fears.

The three thugs separate, all grinning like maniacs. From behind them, the fourth person walks forwards and my stomach turn violently. He was tall, well over six feet in height. He had one blue eye on the right side of his face with dark brown slicked back hair and high cheek bones. The left side of his face was red and the muscle sagged against his bones. His one eye was red and his hair was snow white that stuck almost straight up. He was dressed in a white suit on his left side with a blood red suit on his right side. His tie was split down the middle with the same blood red color of his suit on the right side though, and left side checkered in white and black.

He smiled down from the end of the alley. Footsteps thundered behind me and a sickening realization comes over me. _I wasn't just looking in on a drug trade, I was looking in on the headquarters of Two-Face's latest place. Yea Jezebelle, just follow a thug who mentions your old doctors name and see what happens. Real smart. Your brilliance stupefies me. _"Good evening little hero. You wandered a little too far from your Hero I would guess-," he smiles. "-right into my hideout." He turns to his thugs. "You're outnumbered."

"Robin? Batman? Got any good advice?" I remain still, and watch the thugs around me gather together like a wolf pack. Their hungry glares itch at my skin and I shudder.

"Just stay there. We're almost there,' Dick's voice comes back a little breathlessly.

He turns back to me. "But don't worry. I give everyone a chance to walk free. It just depends on your luck of the day." He pulls out a large silver coin. "Let's see what fate draws for you today." He flips the coin off the tip of his thumb and the silver flies into the air, twirling over and over in the setting sun. The coin falls back down and Two-Face catches it in against his palm. His fingers come over before I can see where it's fallen and my breath stops in my chest.

He looks down and his fingers lift. His smile widens. "Luck doesn't favor you today it would seem." He lifts up the silver coin and flips it in between his fingers. The thugs behind me and across from me laugh sadistically. "Get her boys."

My body tenses, and I jump on top of the nearest garbage can. A fire escape is on the other side of the alley, about seven and a half feet off the ground and I use my running momentum off the garbage can to throw myself upwards. My palms grab onto the metal handle on the fire escape and I pull myself upwards as fast as I can. _Move Jezebelle. Move!_

"After her! After her!" Two-Face yells. "Don't let her get away! She knows where we are!"

Guns echo off the walls of the alley, deafening me for a moment. A bullet slices the air a millimeter away from my face and my heart jumps. "Jezebelle!" Dick's voice calls in my Bluetooth.

"Don't worry, I make my own luck sidekick," I say, pushing myself to climb upwards as fast as I can. Bullets cut the air around me. I look upwards defiant at the odds and continue on.

But luck can only spread it's self so thin. I'm almost to the top when a bullet hits me in the flesh on my left arm. It only grazed the top of the skin, but it made me drop from the last step and lean dangerously far backwards. "She's going to fall!" someone yells below me. I wave my arms to stop my momentum and curl my toes forwards. My body weight falls forwards against the metal pole steps and my arms don't catch my body fast enough. My face hits the pole step and cold metal smashes against my cheek.

I raise my arms up and pull myself to the top of the building's top floor. There was no window and the ceiling was four feet above me. I look to the side and see a thin ledge. "Get up and get her!" Two-Face yells exhilarated. I look down and see the bottom of the fire escape ladder being lowered to the thugs. I look back up and realize I don't have a choice. I jump off the edge of the fire escape ladder and onto the thin ledge. Guns fire below me against and chips of the building fire away again.

"Butterfly!" Dinah's voice is below me and I force back the urge to yell out to her like a lost child. My feet stumble cautiously on the thin ledge and I grab the wall desperately. The old brick wall sticks out in odd sections and I put my foot up on a thicker section. I push lightly at the brick and when it doesn't give out beneath me, I push myself off the brick as quickly as possible and put my foot in the other weird angles of the brick wall. Bullets bounce or embed themselves in the wall, but less bullets are aimed at me than before. I reach over and lift myself onto the top of the old building.

"I… hate….hate….rock climbing," I huff out in between breaths. I look down at my bleeding arm and I send healing thoughts to the cut.

"Red Butterfly!" Dinah's voice calls again and I stand up on the ceiling, officially pissed off and ready for round two.

Below me on the streets, Dinah and Batman are beating the crap out of the remaining thugs. Which only happened to be about six or seven. Dinah looks up at the roof of the building I'm on and I wave down at her. She looks at me pointedly. "Get out of here. Robin's waiting for you two blocks down. Meet us back at base!"

I look down at her and she roundhouse kicks a thick thug before tossing another over her shoulder against the brick wall. _What are you going to do? Go charging in and help her? Look at her, she's got it better than you ever could. Do what she wants, she's trying to save you. _I look down at her again for a half of a second before running to the other side of the building and jumping to the other roof over the thin alleyway.

I jump over several more roofs before I find another fire escape and get myself to the ground. Following Dinah's instructions, I sprint down the alleyway and nearly run headlong into someone in the shadows. His arms catch me around the middle and I slam my elbow into the perps face. I feel blood gush on my arm near his nose. "AH- Butterfly it's me!"

Dick's voice calms the raging beast inside my chest that wants to punch and claw myself away from his touch. "R-Robin?" I ask, my voice shaking.

Robin walks forward and I walk with him to the middle of the alleyway. Just in front of me to the left is a very large intersection. We were away from Crime Alley and back in Downtown Gotham. I look at Robin and his nose is gushing red blood over his colorful uniform. "Oh Robin- I'm sorry, I just didn't see you- I'm so sorry."

Robin waves me away and holds his nose like that was going to help him. I push his hands away. His pushes my hands back again and I slap his hand on his nose. It touches his nose and Robin flinches backwards. "I'm fine Red, I got this. I'm fi-"

"I'm trained in this sidekick, let me see it." I pull his hands away from his bleeding nose and I place my own on the top of his nose near the bridge of his forehead. I let my conscious sink into his muscles and bones and cartilage. I see the break and I pull a part of myself back to my body so I can speak to him. It was like taking a fingernail off of your hand, painful at first, but left a tingling sensation behind. "You have a nasal fracture."

"Is it bad?"

"Bruising under both eyes, swelling, and difficulty breathing. Your nasal septum cartilage is split from your broken nasal bone."

Dick seems to laugh, and I can feel the vibrations of his choked breathing through my hands on his face. "Can you fix me Doc?"

"Sorry, there's no cure for being a smartass." I sink my conscious into the nasal bone and guide it back together. I duplicate the blood cells around the bone and straighten the cartilage. The passageways in his naval cavities open wide and I pull myself away from him. My eyes refocus on his face, and the swelling, labored breathing and bruising was already starting to fade. "The markings should be gone in five minuets. You think you can live that long?"

"Only if crazy Butterflies don't attack me out of the blue again," he grins, unfazed that I just broken then rehealed his nose.

"You know Robin, I'm tempted to rebrake that nose of yours."

He smiles. "And ruin this pretty face of mine? What would the rest of the world thin-"

"Ah, so the young Butterfly knows Boy Blunder. What a shock," Two- Face's voice cat calls from behind us in the shadows of the alleyway.

Dick and I turn around at the same time and watch as Two-Face emerges from the shadows with four thugs at his side. They grin malevolently at me and I widen my stance, screaming 'come at me bro' in every body language. "Go back Two-Face and I'll give you a three minuets head start," Robin says.

Two-Face smiles on his right side widely. "I think I'll help break in the newest wanna-be hero." He flips his coin in the air and catches it without looking away from us. He glances down and his smile widens wider. "And it looks like luck is on my side today." He points to Dick. "Kill him." The four thugs run at Dick and Two-Face turns to me. "Hello Red Butterfly, I don't believe we've met before."

I plaster a smile on my face. "I'm new."

"You wouldn't say."

Dick throws a thug over his shoulder and throws front flips over the second thug with a gun. He hits him in the stomach, the back of the neck when the thug doubles over, and disassembles the gun in parts from the thugs hand. He throws the gun parts across the alleyway and he meets my eyes. "Run! Go and don't look back!" he glances to Two-Face pointedly and I understand.

If we split up the entourage, they would be weaker. I just had to distract him. I take a step forwards to Two-Face. "You know I hear plastic surgeries big these days, have you ever considered it?" I smirk. "I myself have never needed it, but for your… well unflattery problem, I would advise it."

Two-Face grimaces and his right eyebrow lowers on his face dangerously. "Fate has chosen that you die today. I can't say I'm disappointed."

I cock out a hip confidently. "Try and catch up and we'll see whose fate will turn your little coin Double Ugly." I stick out my tongue for good measure and Two-Face charges at me anger written in every plane on his face.

I run away the opposite direction from Dick into the busy intersection. Two-Face shoots a gun into the sky and people scream in fear. Heads duck in automatic response, and I slide over an oncoming car's hood. Two-Face runs after me, and I launch myself into the nearest alleyway. I run as fast as I can, and look behind me once. Two-Face runs into the alley behind me and aims the gun at me. I throw myself into the alleyway to my immediate left and land on my ankle. An angry 'CRACK' pounds into my ears before the pain reaches up my leg. I bite my tongue to hold back the scream of intense pain and I taste blood.

"Butterfly, show yourself!" Two-Face calls out.

Blood pounds into my ears, deafening out the rest of the noise around me. I swallow quickly and I grab onto the alley wall. Adrenaline runs through my arms and numbs the pain in my ankle. "Come and find me Ugly-Ass!" I yell back.

I hobble to the edge of the alley, and run in a flat sprint to the next alley. It was filled from top to bottom with clothes lines. Sheets, pants, shirts, men's boxers, socks and bras hung on clothes pins from the lines and I swallow. A crazy idea was forming in my head. _But it's going to hurt like hell._

Two-Face runs up from behind and fires off his gun into the air several times. I don't pause to think again and dive into the strings of sheets and clothes. I jump, duck and weave through the lines. From above, the cloudy sky starts to let go of all its' water. Fat rain drops ambush me from all sides and I squint into the sudden hazy air for the clothes lines. I stumble forwards and duck just in time for a line that would have wrapped around my neck. I move forwards for another couple of seconds before my foot trips over a loose line.

I fall to my chest and the breath is knocked out of my body. I inhale furiously and nearly choke of the falling rain around me. "Here Butterfly Butterfly…" Two-Face calls out almost directly behind me. I crawl to the side of the alley slowly. A large shiny black shoe steps were my leg was just laying moments ago. I look up silently to the scarred face of Harvey Dent looking out at the sheet lines in front of him with annoyance written across his face. "Come out come out wherever you are!" he yells.

I stay completely still and let the sheets camouflage me. Two-Face walks forwards in to the mass of sheets, and I hold my breath until I hear him parting the sheets ahead of my hiding place. I release my breath and stand up silently, ignoring the stabbing sharpness in my ankle. Rain drenches my black tank top to my skin and soaks my skinny jeans to my legs, making the material rub in all the wrong places.

A loud ringing fills my left ear and my entire head flinches away from the noise. It rings again and my hand comes up to find the blue tooth still attached to me. I press the answer button on the silver rectangle. "Hello?" I whisper.

"Butterfly?"

"Robin?"

"Where are you?"

"Hiding in a clothes line."

"…What?"

"A clothes like robin. A clothes line."

"I- …. What?"

"Across the intersection, down the first direct alleyway, turn left after the fourth opening, turn left at the second one after that. You'll find an alleyway filled with clothes lines."

"Why are you-" I hear Robin's panted breath over the phone line. "-hiding in a clothes line?"

"Why do you think? I'm hiding from-"

"THERE YOU ARE!" Two-Face bursts out from behind the large white sheets to the right of me. Wind whips the clothes on the lines and rain darkens the air, making my vision hazy and my ears practically useless.

"Butterfly!" Robin yells in my ear, the only sound that I can hear above the pounding.

Two-Face pulls out a shiny black gun and points the end down at me. His maniac grin spreads wide across the right side of his face. The rain is pouring, but my heart beat fills my ears and blocks out any other sound. I barely hear Two-Face laughing in vindictive joy. "See ya doll face."

The gun lifts higher. _I'm going to die._ The world moves in slow motion and I see Two-Face lift his scarred face to the rain, like he was savoring the moment. _I didn't listen to Dinah and train. I'm going to die because I didn't listen. _Two-Face slowly looks down at me and tips the gun to its side. _I am going to die before I do so many things. I didn't help Abby, I didn't see Miranda today for her birthday, I didn't get a chance to listen to Dinah, or Bruce, or Conner. I didn't tell Dick. I didn't get to show him up._ The rain pours harder down on me and I can't feel my fingertips or toes. _I am going to die._

"_Butterfly, run!"_ I don't know if the voice is in my head or in my ears, but like a drowning man's life boat, I grab onto the piece of advice and concentrate.

The gun shoots off. Smoke fills the air. My body twists to the side. The bullet slices past my face and hits the wall behind me. Two-Face laughs at my crumpled body on the floor. The rain falls over me, mud and grim sticking to my bare arms and face.

"BUTTERFLY!" the name is yelled above me. Adrenaline rushes through my skin and my pain is forgotten. My remorse is smashed to pieces and anger slams through my veins. _Dick?_

My heart pumps twice as fast and I slide myself to my feet. Two-Face stops laughing and steps backwards, the right side of his face set in caution and shock. "I killed you!" his voice screams in anger like a man cheated in cards, but the fear I should be feeling is empty in my chest.

I turn to the villain and glare at him. My mask is glued to my face from the rain and I push the edges more securely around my eyes. "Obviously, Set of Fugly Faces, you didn't. Try again." My voice is hard, cold, unrecognizable. The anger in my veins sweeps rational thoughts aside and I take a step closer to the taller man. "I dare you."

I see his eyes flare and I duck into a roll to the right. Bullets ring across the alley walls. I jump over clothes lines, duck under hanging clothes and dodge flying bullets.

"Butterfly!"

"I'm fine Robin- Give me a hint though, how far till the end of the alley?"

"Fifteen yards."

"Great. Help me out and cut the lines behind me."

"-What?" Dick asks.

"Cut the lines. Start a knot and cut the lines. Hopefully, he'll get caught between the clothes and ropes and tie himself up."

"That's a big hope to lean on."

"You have a better idea right now? The intersection is just beyond this. If we go any farther, he could have access to kill hundreds of people."

"No, okay clothes lines. Got it. You okay?"

I jump over a low rising clothes line. Shirts, jackets and jeans rub against my skin and wipe away the grim and mud. The rain keeps my surrounding nearly impossible to look through, but my ears are wide open. I ignore the pounding and concentrate on footsteps and the echoes of ricocheting bullets.

"Just wonderful Robin. Just wonderful."

"Red BUTTERFLY!" Two-Face jumps out from behind me and I duck. The butt of the gun flies over my head. My sprained foot gets caught in a lower line and I tumble forwards. Two-Face follows and steps over me. I roll to my back and Two-Face stands in victory with the gun pointed down. "Goodbye," he smiles.

_Oh well, now I'm dead._

A red and yellow batarang comes out of the rain and hits Two-face in the back of the head. It bounces off his skull and cuts the lines around us. Clothes fall to the floor and Two-Face falls forwards from the impact of the batarang. I sweep my feet under his and roll to the side. Two-Face falls on his chest to the ground and his head slams into the concrete. I grab a cut clothes line from the ground and kneel over the unconscious villain. I grab his hands and tie them together behind his back.

"Thanks Robin," I say to my Bluetooth, hoping it was still on.

"No problem Red. Police are in the back alley and heading to the front. Leave Two-Face and head out in civvies."

"Okay."

I take another clothes line and tie Two-Face's legs together. Afterwards, I push Two-Face to his back so the police can identify him when they find his body. Heavy footsteps round into the alleyway. "Police! Put your hands in the air!"

I jump over Two-Face's body, under the nearest clothes lines and run to the front of the alley. I grab a coat off the closest clothesline and throw it around my shoulders, no matter how wet it already was. I keep running and ignore the police's call behind me. I rip off my mask and shove it deep down in the pockets of my jeans. "Police! Stop!"

"Jezebelle?" Dick's voice asks in my ear.

"Hold on, I'm almost-" I run out of the alleyway and run into a crowd crossing the street. I slow myself to a walk and cross the raining street to the other side. "I'm out. Crossing to the south. Passing Starbucks." A man next to me looks at me in a glance and then does a double take at my face. _And I'm recognized._

"Good. Look straight."

I look up away from the staring man, and down the street. A smile spreads my face and a warm tingling wraps around my chest. Dick is standing in the middle of the sidewalk. His hair is plastered to his face, his jeans and dark blue shirt soaked to his skin, and a blinding smile wide on his face. He stood in the standing, while people walk around him smiling like he had won the lottery. My heart does a flip and my stomach drops to my feet. Dick touches his ear with a finger. "You did a good job today. You made your own luck." He lifts his finger away from his ear and smiles again.

Late relief and exhaustion hits me in the chest and my shoulders sag. Maybe I was losing my mind, but my smile got wider and a laugh explodes away from my chest. I laugh like it a kid on the last day of school, and start running. I don't know why, but with every step, my chest feels lighter, the tension falls away and my smile widens impossibly large across my face. I feel like I'm dropping a hundred pounds off my shoulders and I run faster down the street.

My bare feet pound the street and Dick gets closer and closer. He doesn't look alarmed that I'm flat out sprinting to him; instead, he starts running too. He was running slower than me, like a jog, but his smile could have bested even mine.

I'm four, three, two yards from him. At two feet away, I launch myself off the pavement. Dick doesn't miss a beat and catches me around the waist. His hands hold me up above him by my waist and hip and he turns around at the momentum of our collision. I look down and rain hits his face from above. His warmth sinks into my skin and I put my hands down on either side of his face.

"Make my own luck?" I ask softly.

Dick's smile turns into a knowing grin. "You made it."

I lean down to him. "But you saved me."

His eyes look up into mine and he drops me to the ground slowly. "I thought he had killed you." His face is turned downwards to me and is only inches away. I keep his face between my hands and a burning heat is sears underneath my skin. I want to wrap my arms around him and hold him, to let him know I was here, I was safe, and I was fine. I wanted him to be hold me here and to feel his skin against mine. To know that he was here and real. He wasn't dead or bleeding. He was fine.

"I thought I was going to die." I lean my body weight against his. "I was so stupid Dick. I didn't listen and I didn't take anyone's-"

Dick shakes his head and his hands wrap all the way around my waist. He lets his right hand go away from my hip and cups it under my chin. "Jez."

His face is inches closer to me and my name off his lips shuts me up. "Dick..."

His hand under my chin moves upwards and holds the side of my bruised cheek from falling on the metal pole stairs. He smiles. "Miss Alarico, this is actually the second time I've saved you, if you remember falling off the horse in Bolivia?"

I let my hands fall the base of his neck. "If I remember right Mr. Grayson, I saved _you_ that day." Rain slides down my bare arms and goose bumps shiver down my back.

"Who saved you in return," Dick reminds me like an adult to a child.

I narrow my eyes. "So we're even."

"No because I've just saved you. You owe me." His head bends lower to me and I rise slowly to the balls of my feet.

"I owe you what?" I ask, millimeters away from him.

He smirks. "Surprise me?" His head bends forwards and his eyes close.

I lean forwards and remove my hands slowly down from his neck. _Surprise you? _I smirk. Lifting my nearest hand, I reach upwards and flick the tip of his nose. His eyes snap open and his head flinches backwards in surprise. His arms fall away from me in surprise. I smile and put my hands on my hips.

"Surprise."

I turn and take a step away. Suddenly, Dick's hand is on my fore arm and tugs me backwards. I 180 completely around and collide straight into Dick's chest. I can't stop the surprised breath that escapes my chest and I blink rapidly in momentary shock. His other hand wraps around my lower waist and holds me firmly against him. I look upwards and he looks down meeting my eyes. "Surprise," he says.

Rain hits me in the face, but I can't feel it in the next moment. Dick leans down and presses his lips against mine. A fireball of heat erupts in my chest and spreads through my body. My arms wrap around his neck and pull him closer. His arms tighten around my waist and one of his hands comes to the back of my neck under my soaking hair. _I'm kissing Dick. Dick is kissing me back. I'm kissing… _ I lean backwards and break the kiss.

I take in a deep breath and Dick pulls me back to him. "Are you okay?"

My chest is heaving. _How long were we standing there in the middle of the sidewalk? _"I-you- why did you kiss me? I thought-"

Dick looks down at me suddenly wary. "Did you- … Did you not want me to do that?" I stare up at him, unable to say anything. _Want me to…? What is he… does he… no. _"Oh God Jezeb- Miss Alarico I'm sorry. I got caught up in the rain. I know you must not be in the right frame of mind after your first fight on the streets. I'm sorry I just-"

"Dick..." I shake my head. Dick leans farther back. "Dick you're an idiot." _He cares what I think. He kissed me. _I put my hand on the edge of Dick's shirt and pull his confused face closer to mine. "And I _definitely_ wanted you to do that." I smile. "As a matter of fact, I wouldn't mind if you did it again."

Dick's face transforms from confused to wary to happy to smug in a couple of seconds. "Yes Miss. Alarico." He pulls me tight against him and kisses me right in the middle of the sidewalk in the middle of Gotham downtown. I don't watch as people around us look or walk past us. All I can concentrate on is the warm feelings in my gut and the blazing heat that's consuming my insides into goo. He was right here with me, kissing me back. Dick freaking Grayson. Robin.

I break away. "Dick?" I look up at him.

He looks confused and a little amused. "Yes?"

"What does this mean for both of us?" I ask intertwining my fingers together behind his neck.

"Like on our friendship?" he asks, looking down.

"Do we have a friendship?" I ask.

"Of course. We just have little more."

I loosen my arms around his neck. "Friends with benefits?" I ask, my heart sinking deep into my chest.

Dick looks at me silently. "Is that what you want?"

My hands fall and rest on his chest between us. I look away from his eyes to the people behind him. "No. That's not what I want."

Dick moves his head so his face is in front of me. "Good. Because I don't want that either."

I look back up to him. "You don't?"

He shakes his head and smiles. "No. After this? No one else should get that."

My heart lifts upwards and my goose bumps disappear at the sudden warmth that eats at my insides. "What does that mean for us then? You know, me not kissing random guys might be a little hard if I don't have a reason."

Dick's eyebrows lift. "Oh I'd hate to deprive you of your extracurricular activities with other guys then."

I smirk. "Yea, consider all the other guys I could start to kiss in the rain."

His go-lucky smile drops. "Not funny. This is _our_ place."

"Friends don't _have_ places."

"That's not true. Me and Wally have our hang out places."

"Wally…" I think back to ever meeting a Wally. No, I had never met a Wally, but it was nice to know he had a best friend. "That sounds like a guys name."

"Well that's a good thing because he _is_ a guy."

I raise my eyebrows at him. "I didn't know you swung for that side of the team."

He rolls his eyes. "I'm not gay."

I smirk. "Are you positive?"

"Didn't I just prove I'm not?"

I nod slowly. "True, but you could be bisexual."

"I don't have a relationship with Wally."

"No fuck-buddies?"

"No."

I smile. "So you're open?"

He smiles back and tightens his hold on me. "Miss Alarico, will you officially date me?"

I smirk and look up into the rain. "And if I said no?"

He shrugs like it didn't bother him. "There's always others who want me, I am the son of billionaire Bruce Wayne you know."

I look back down and up at him. "Oh got Wally on the line have you?"

He groans and I laugh quietly. "Yes Mr. Grayson. I would like to officially date you."

He smiles and lets me go. "You know that means no kissing other guys right?"

I smile. "I'll try."

Dick takes my hand and I link our fingers through each of his. "Good." He kisses the top of my hand that's connected with his and he looks up at the rain. "Come on, let's get out of the rain before one of us catches a cold."

He starts walking and I walk at his side, our hands still connected. "Only your weak immune system would catch cold Grayson. _I_ wouldn't be able to."

He glances at me. "Whose acting like the smartass now?"

I squeeze his hand in a warning. "Rebraking your nose still isn't out of the question."

He smiles. "Noted." His face changes suddenly into business and he touches his hand to his ear. "Yes?" He looks at me and mouths _League_. I nod. He squeezes my hand. "Yes we're both fine… no he was taken by the police…Yes…Okay, I will…. No we're both civilians…. Alright, I'll get her back… No, she's okay… Okay." His hand pulls away from the earpiece in his ear.

He looks over to me. "She wants me home?" I ask.

He nods. "She wants to see you."

"And debrief."

He smiles. "And debrief. Come on, I'll catch us a cab."

Dick pulls my hand and I follow after him, unaware of the several camera phones aimed at us, clicking pictures away at a hundred miles an hour. I wasn't thinking of public image, I was only thinking of the fact that I had Dick's hand wrapped around in mine. He was with me. He was _mine._

My second… first ever _real_ boyfriend.

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><p><strong>So really, the scandal doesn't brake until the next morning, but I thought this chapter was long enough. It was 14,246 words. Definitely the longest chapter I've ever written. <strong>

**And she's together with Dick! Finally right? :] ahhh I hope the kiss in the rain was cute enough.**

**Alright, NEXT UP: A scandal makes the morning paper, Dick gets a little jealous, and Luther blows up a building. **

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! **

**I can't believe this story got more than 200 reviews... it's pretty crazy to me.**

**~Missmusicluver**


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33 guys!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except Jezebelle, Karina and every other character that DC doesn't own. THey own the rest. **

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><p>Dick Grayson woke up early in the morning. He pushed away his covers and stood up shaking the sleep out of his eyes with his hand. A knock came from the door and Dick didn't even glance up. "Come in Alfred."<p>

The wooden door swung open and the older butler walked in with a straight and dignified air. "Master Bruce wishes to see you."

Dick looked up. "I'll see him at breakfast won't I?"

Alfred looked down at Dick's pajama's. "Master Bruce will be leaving soon to talk with the press. He wishes to see you before he goes. There is something he needs to talk with you about."

Dick raised his eyebrows. "It's so important that he _needs_ to see me now?"

Alfred nodded and eyed Dick with cool eyes. "It is about you Master Dick."

Dick stood up straighter and his eyes widened. "What about me?"

Alfred clasped his hands together in front of him. "Master Bruce wishes to see you master Dick." Then Alfred nodded once and left the room with Dick's question still hanging in the air unanswered.

Dick changed hurriedly, strands of stress and cautioned anger wrapping around his insides. When Bruce wanted to _talk_ to Dick three times out of four, it was Bruce lecturing him in some way and Dick getting in trouble. Again.

He pulled on a dark blue shirt, black hoodie over it and jeans with red and black AC-DC shoes. He ran his fingers through his hair and put his cell in his pocket. He ran out the door and down the hallway trying to make it to the kitchen as fast as possible. He ran into the dining room and skidded next to the table, barely breaking a sweat. He sat down on a dining room chair lightly and put his hands in his lap.

Bruce sat at the head of the small table directly next to the kitchen holding the morning paper. Dick knew that the Dark Knight knew all the information in the paper from back to front hours before the paper was even printed. Why he even pretended to read it was beyond him. Just to keep up pretenses?

Dick watched his adopted father flip to the next page. The front page's title in bold black letters splashed across Dick's eyes and his hand automatically snapped out. His hand clapped on the top of the paper and he rotated the front of the newspaper towards him with a sinking feeling in his gut and eyes widening farther and farther. He met no resistance and he lost the breath in his chest in shock. The sinking feeling in his gut fell farther and farther.

The bold capital letters seemed to cut him with every word. "NEWEST BILLIONAIRE JEZEBELLE ALARICO KISSES BRUCE WAYNE'S SON DICK GRAYSON AND MYSTERY MAN?" Below the top letters were two pictures. One of Dick and Jezebelle's kiss in Gotham's rain and the other of Jezebelle wrapped in a towel, her elbows on her knees and kissing a bigger man in front of a large fireplace. Dick stared at the face of the other man and he immediately recognized Conner Kent's black hair and large jaw. _Jezebelle's kissing Conner. _ His insides turned over and he went back up to the top of the page. Dick reread the title three times over before he blinked rapidly and looked up. Bruce was already staring down at him, his eyes scanning Dick's facial movements and expressions.

"This..." Dick started.

"Is all over the newspapers, all over town."

Dick stared up at Bruce completely lost at what to do. "What...," he looked down and breathed out the air he hadn't realized he had been holding. "...okay."

Bruce didn't say anything and continued to stare down at Dick, watching. Dick looked up at him, confused and overwhelmed at what to do. Bruce watched his son's eyes glance at several inanimate objects in a rapid procession and the teen's fists clench and unclench in his lap. Bruce put the paper face up on the table and put his elbows on the table. Dick automatically looked up, ready for Bruce's instructions, and guidance like he automatically looked for in every mission.

Bruce took his cell phone out of his inner jacket pocket and looked at the time. He looked up at Dick and put the phone back into his pocket. "I'm going to a press conference to handle this. Get yourself to school and don't think about it until tonight. We'll talk later."

Dick watched the taller man stand up. Bruce's condescending tone weighed down on Dick like a thick smoke. Anger scorched his throat. "I don't have to go back until Monday. I still have three days." Dick stood up next to Bruce and the older man's eyes landed on the teen. "And I'm going to Mt. Justice."

Dick turned, and Bruce caught his elbow. "Don't do anything you'll regret later."

Dick pulled his elbow out. _Criticizing me again. _"I won't."

"I mean it Dick. It's just a girl. The team has a bigger part in the world than a small probl-"

"She isn't some girl Bruce." Dick turned and looked Bruce in the eye. "She isn't one of your party plus ones. She's Jezebelle. She's..." Dick trailed off and shook his head slightly. "I wouldn't expect you to understand. But she's different."

Dick turned around and walked out of the kitchen. "But don't worry. I'm not mad at Conner. Just..." Dick trailed off again and he doubted Bruce heard the rest of his sentence.

Bruce watched Dick walk out of the room and an unfamiliar feeling of doubt wriggled into his solid judgment. He knew the fleeting familiarity of sex, that was true enough and the once in a while moments of love, but he didn't understand the look in Dick's eyes. It was something he hadn't seen before. A will of sorts, that looked like it could spark an inferno.

It was dangerous, and it could put Dick off of his top shape. He had let Dick date Zatanna because it didn't distract him from what was important, and that was keeping him alive at the top of his game. But the expression Dick wore... it made Bruce's fatherly mind evaporate and Batman's persona to enter the rigid confines of a machine mind. If he let his feelings become this progressive this soon and this hard, it could take Dick's mind off the hunt of the enemy, of the way of his life. It could kill Dick.

Bruce sat back down at the small table aware of Alfred watching him carefully. _His feelings for Jezebelle could get him killed. He has to stay on track. I have to bring him back._

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><p><em>Jealousy. I'm jealous. <em> Dick's mind was going over that word like a piece of gum. Unable to chew on it for a couple of seconds and tempting him to think about it with every step he took. _Jealous of Conner. Conner Kent. _Dick shook his head and walked into the living room of Mt. Justice. The TV was on and Megan was in the kitchen making God knows what.

Kaldur was on the couch watching the documentary of the Titanic and Conner was sitting on the other side of the couch, his face expressionless, but his eyebrows together at the front.

"Kent." Conner looked up and met at Dick's shaded eyes.

"Robin." Conner stood up and walked around the couch. "Let's talk in the other room."

Kadlur and Megan watched the short interaction, immediately confused. Megan looked a little suspicious. Conner and Dick ignored the looks and walked into the next room. "Dick about the paper-"

"So you saw it too."

Conner nodded. "Yea, I didn't really know what to think about it. I know it must be harder on you than on me... you being the son of a billionaire and all."

Conner's face look troubled and the anger that was in Dick's veins suddenly died. "It wasn't that bad Con. It just was a surprise that's all."

Conner nodded and leaned against the wall. His eyes looked up as if suddenly tired before landing on Dick again. "You dating her now?"

Dick nodded. "As of yesterday."

Conner nodded, accepting whatever was on his mind before sighing. He nodded to himself again and suddenly grinned. He looked down at Dick with high eyebrows. "Kissing in the rain dude? Really?" He smiled down at Dick shaking his head. "That's gotta be the cheesiest-"

Dick hung his head smiling. "Oh shut up."

Conner laughed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Might want to tell Barbra that you've got Jez now too. As well as Zatanna. Or else they'll both be after her for kissing both of us."

Dick lost the grin. "Yea you do that with Megan too."

Conner's grin was lost from his face the next moment. "Megan?"

Dick nodded. "We'll have to. We started this."

"We- ... alright. I'll go talk to her now." Conner went to the door and turned around before going out the door. "Oh, and Canary wants to see you."

"Dinah?" Dick asked, the sinking feeling from earlier weighing him down again.

Conner nodded and grinned ruthlessly. "Good luck." He reached back to grab the door handle, but Dick stopped him from a raised hand in question.

"Is it about a mission? Or..."

Conner grinned wider than ever. "You'll just have to find out."

Dick nodded. "Yea. I'll do that ... at some point."

"She wants to see you as soon as you're able to see her here."

Dick gave Conner a narrowed glance. "You knew about it before hand didn't you?"

Conner opened the door. "Dinah comes with the package deal of dating her."

Dick grimaced halfheartedly and walked out of the room with Conner. "Wonderful."

Conner elbowed him. "It's not that bad. Just think about it. If you two end up married and Wally and Artemis end up married, you and wally will be related."

Dick looked up to his taller friend. "How do you figure?"

Conner stopped in front of the couch and sat on the back edge. "Oliver."

"Okay. I got a name."

Conner grinned. "Sure you're the son of the best detective on earth?"

Dick crossed his hands over his chest. "I'll put kryptonite in your morning coffee."

Conner shrugged. "I don't really dink that stuff, but go ahead if you want. It'll just end up in the drain."

Dick rolled his eyes. "Just go on with what you were saying."

"Oliver."

"I got that part. You're repeating yourself."

"No, you're not listening. Take your mind off of Jez for one minute and think. Oliver... and Dinah. They're dating..."

Dick raised an eyebrow, catching on. "Is Oliver thinking of..."

Conner nodded. "Got the ring and everything."

Surprise made Dick stand up a little taller. He hadn't known that. "But Oliver and Artemis aren't really related Conner."

"They will be soon enough."

Dick felt like he was about to learn something else that Conner knew before Dick. "What do you mean?"

"Speedy... Red Arrow or whatever. You know he was dating Artemis's sister?"

"Yea. Had Batman worried for a while."

"Yea, well, he should have been. They're married."

Dick was so shocked his arms fell away from across his chest. "What?"

Conner nodded. "Just last week. And Oliver had officially adopted him a few years back. So Artemis and Oliver are really related. Just not as Uncle and niece anymore."

"Wow."

"Yea, tell me about it. My head was turning in 360's when I found out too."

"So if Oliver and Dinah marry and Artemis and Wally marry and Jezebelle and I..."

Conner grinned. "You'd all be one big happy family." Conner's eyes flicked behind Dick's head and Dick had a high suspicion that he was staring at the green skinned alien.

"Yea and pretty soon you'll be paired up with Louis Lane as a sister-in-law. Fun stuff that'll be."

Conner rubbed the back of his head. "Actually, I haven't really met her yet. So I have no idea how she'll be."

Dick grinned. "I'm not the only one who'll need the luck then."

The living room door opened and Dinah stepped in. She put her hands on her hips and pointed at the only teen wearing sunglasses. "Robin. Come with me."

Conner raised his hands in surrender and Dick elbowed Conner as he nodded to Dinah. Dinah turned from the room and Dick followed. The sinking feeling from before rose in his throat and blocked his lungs. This was going to be fun.

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><p>I was eating my breakfast when I found out about the 'Scandal' going around in the papers and morning news.<p>

I turn up the TV's volume again over the kitchen counter with Karina, DS, and Blaze standing around me as we stare at the too-thin blonde woman on the screen. She was smiling pleasantly and talking in a high voice that set my teeth on edge.

"And in Ten Minuets of Gossip today, Jezebelle Alarico, youngest new billionaire of America, has a lover. Well actually, _two_ lovers it would seem. These photos were shot yesterday only a couple hours apart from each other. The first," The screen shot of me and Conner kissing in front of the fireplace came up ballooned on my screen and I sighed heavily. _Well crap._ "- was taken in a small café just outside of Gotham. Sources tell us that the young business woman was talking with this mystery man for nearly half an hour before the boy leaned in and _kissed_ her."

The blonde woman smiled. "It was also said that she made no attempt at leaning away or stopping the kiss, but as our source says 'just let it happen'." The picture changed to one of me and Dick in the rain in Downtown Gotham. "This picture was taken only a couple hours later in Downtown Gotham and exclusively only here on Gotham's Greatest, we have the whole thing on video from a bystander watching the entire exchange." _Well crap. Ugh, stupid iphones._

The picture fell away and a clear frame of Dick standing in the middle of the rain, with the smog of Gotham surrounding him and people under umbrellas sometimes clipping the sides of the frame came into view. He was standing, soaking in the cold water watching somewhere off out of the cameras frame with a small smile clear on his face.

The woman's voice from the station came out clearly in interruption. "Oh look how that young man has grown up. Such a sweetheart. I wonder who he's smiling too." The camera moved suddenly to the left and I saw myself. Hair soaked, stolen coat wet against me like a second skin and bare footed on the ground. "Oh he was staring at her. How _sweet._ Why doesn't she have any shoes on though?" The camera watched my face suddenly split into a huge smile. I mean, a _huge_ smile. I don't even know I could smile that wide. I watch myself seem to laugh before I start running. The camera follows slowly as I run around people huddled under their umbrellas and the puddles on the sidewalk. "Is she... she's running to him isn't she? Awww that's just so _adorable."_

The camera follows me closely until Dick and I are both in the same screen and then the picture zooms in slowly. I watch as I launch myself at Dick and him catch me around the waist with a sickeningly sweet smile that I had originally missed, but sets off the blonde woman into an 'aaawww so _sweet_' moment again. I watch him lifting me off the ground and turning around before setting me on the ground. His head dipped down to mine and I watched our lips mumble words the camera couldn't pick up.

"Oh that was so sweet! The kiss is coming I would suppose. Right about..." The camera watched out faces get closer and closer, and the Blaze behind me sniggered. "NOW!" I watch myself open my eyes and raise my hand up. Dick's face came closer still and I flicked him across the nose.

Dick jumped backwards on the screen and the TV women's voice in the background seemed to be choking. "Did she just... she just... _flicked_ him? Did she-"

The TV woman's voice was drowned out by Blaze and DS suddenly laughing. DS leaned forwards and closed her eyes trying to contain the loud laughter bursting from her mouth and Blaze was holding her stomach out of habit, rubbing her eyes hurriedly. "You... first kiss with Grayson ... flick him..."

I turned up the volume again to drown them out. I watch myself turn away from him and then Dick reaching out and grabbing my elbow. His face wasn't confused or shocked anymore, but determined. "Oh look at the young man, going for what he wants." He pulled and I watch silently as I turn around, my face open in shock and Dick grinning. He says something the rain drowns out, but I read 'surprise' off his lips. Blaze and DS had stopped laughing and everyone watched as Dick leaned down and kissed me full on the mouth. "_Awwwwwwww,_" the woman swooned from the speakers.

Someone walked in front of the camera and the video shut off. The blonde woman came back on screen and her full grin was stretched wide across her makeup-ed cheeks. "So there you have it folks. Kissed in the middle of Downtown Gotham traffic? Or being kissed by a young man who protected her from the rain minuets before. Which is sweeter Gotham? And who do you think is the boyfriend? Or maybe no boyfriend at all, but just trying things out in the new city? People here at Gotham's Greatest want to hear what you have to say about this. We'll be back in twenty minuets to see your vote. Just text in at-" I muted the woman's voice and closed my eyes.

My head leans downwards and I press my head on the table counter. "UGHHHHH, Dinah... someone get me Dinah."

"Don't worry, I was never that far away. I saw the juiciest gossip just a few minuets ago too." My head snapped upwards and I watch as Dinah walks into the room eyeing the TV with an annoyed expression. Her annoyed gaze glanced at me and hardened. My shoulders slumped downwards at the incoming lecture. Karina watched unperturbed and sat down at the table next to me.

Dinah stands in front of me and I look up cautiously, swallowing slowly. "Dinah yesterday was-"

"-A complete and _total_ disaster. You know leading a multibillion dollar company will get you fame at your age, or even an adult! You knew the cameras were coming. You were warned several times. Why didn't you watch out what you were doing? Or listen to what I told you to do? You were almost killed! Yesterday we debriefed over this! You failed to tell me someone was videotaping you over this! Why didn't you let me know-"

"I didn't know!"

Dinah threw her hands into the air. "How can you not know Jez? There are cameras everywhere! You are always watched! You should know this by-"

"I do know!"

"Obviously not if _this_ happened! Look at the TV Jezebelle! You don't know! _This_ happens when you don't watch your ba-"

"I know! I'm sorry! I wasn't thinking! I was just-"

"Letting the whole world in on your personal life!"

"I didn't mean too!"

"But you did! Did you think about how this would affect your image? The business's image? Your employees? Did any of that run through your mind at all during all of that? Because you-"

"Dinah I was scared! I had just gotten away from Two-Face and I wasn't thinking right-"

"AND Two-Face!" Dinah's voice grew louder. _Ah crap, you hit an anger button. Smooth move._ "WHAT were you thinking going detective on us in _civilian_ clothes? Were you thinking at all at this point? You have no excuse for following that man and getting yourself into that situation. Your identity could have been exposed! You could have been killed in the process! You had no idea or prior experience in the city and you got yourself tangled with one of Gotham's worst in-"

"I know! We went over this last night! You chewed me out about this already!"

"Well it hasn't sunk in yet!"

"Dinah! I'm sorry okay! I am sorry! I didn't know what I was doing and I was just going off all the training I had been doing this past year and I-"my voice lowers. "-I just couldn't think. I'm sorry."

I look away from Dinah and heat covers my face. _Don't you dare cry Jezebelle Keating. Alarico. Don't you dare. _

I look back up at her. "And this whole thing with Dick... I just..." I shrug, unable to say anything. How could I say what I feel? How could I even start?

"She likes him," DS says leaning on the counter towards me. "And he's liked her. It's about time they both figured it out. I was starting to think I was going to have to plot with Tianna for an intervention."

I look up at Mia/Double Shadow shocked. "Intervention?"

Blaze smirked. "Yea any longer and I would have had to go along with coo-coo shadows over here and gone along with her crazy plans."

I look up at Dinah ad shrug. "I just... I like him. And he ... just kinda likes me back, so..." I feel a smile betray my face. "We've agreed to like each other."

Dinah doesn't let emotion cross her face. "You're both dating each other?"

I wait a moment, cautious of my answer. _Would she approve? Why do I care if she approves? What if she doesn't? Can she make me not date him? Does she have that power? Could I do that if she asked?_ "Yes, he asked me out yesterday after-"I point to the TV which was now replaying the video of Dick and I kissing. "-that."

Dinah nods almost to herself. "Alright."

I watch her carefully. "Alright?" I echo.

She nods again and looks at me. "Alright." Her mouth thins into a smile and she sits down in the other chair next to me. "Besides, Mia's right. It's been pretty obvious for a while now."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "How long have you known?"

"The night Conner kissed you."

Embarrassment and shock ran through me. "You knew about that?"

She nods. "They're cameras inside the house you know."

I nod swallowing my embarrassment with me. "Right." I turn to Blaze. "How long have you known?"

She smiles. "When he came with Conner to Bolivia."

_Okay, she knew before Dinah. What the hell was I doing this entire time?_ I turn to DS. "And you Mia? How long have you known?"

She looks off at the TV and shrugs offhandedly. "Since Dick carried you back from the horse incident."

I blink. "But, I hadn't even met you at that time. How do you know about-"

"Sir told us about throwing Luther out the window. The way he talked about Dick bringing you in like that was all it took to convince me. He's liked you for quite a while, you just didn't know."

I throw my hands up in the air. "So everyone _but _me knew about- UGH."I stand up. "Alright," I glance over at the TV. "I'm going to hold a press conference about this." I look to Dinah. "You approve?" She nods and I sigh. "Alright. I'll see you all later. Blaze and DS shouldn't you be with Sir right now? Get going?"

Dinah stood up too. "I'm heading to Mt. Justice. I'll see you all later."

I nod, pull out my cell from my back pocket and start calling people lined under 'Press'. The first on my list was Louis Lane. Oh joy.

* * *

><p>Lex Luthor stood watching Gotham's Greatest with a sneer on his face. "Bruce, Bruce, Bruce... What have you taught your only son? I guess the playboy gene doesn't have to be genetic." He smiled wide and sat down in his office desk, folding his hands behind his bald head.<p>

His office phone rang and he muted the TV and video looping on his screen. "Speak," he ordered to the other person on the line.

"It's ready," a thin male voice said.

"Are you sure?"

"I thought I was already tested to be able to do this job?" the young male asks.

Lex ignores his mouth. The boy knew he was being paid to do this, and that's all that mattered to Lex. "The pieces are ready and assembled?"

The young voce turned amused. "Queen Bee didn't have much of a choice."

"Has it been tested?"

"Not yet. Have a choice of destination?"

Lex smiled. "Actually, I do. Have you heard of 'Protección'?"

"By Jezebelle Alarico? Yea, I have. You want it on her? I didn't know she had powers."

Lex's smirk turned triumphant. "She doesn't, but I'm thinking a little bigger. Make it the building. The whole building."

"So more power, less science this time around?"

"Just switch the dials around. A death ray has a nice ring to it don't you think?"

There was a small silence. "Okay, put the money in the usual account."

"Of course, that was our deal," Lex automatically answered. If there was one person he was honest about in business, it was this kid. Sometimes, the teen was too smart for his own good, but the kid was undeniably useful when it came to situations like this. Now that his machine was built, he could start on the next stage of his plan. "And Prometheus?"

"Luther?" the kid asked.

"The collage offer still stands if you ever want it. I could make all of your dreams come true. With my resources, you know what I can make happen."

"Proteccion destroyed. Is that all?" Prometheus asked, his voice calm and low.

"For now." Lex hung up first, his mood considerably higher than it had been minuets before. So the kid had finally built what he needed. Prometheus would get the satisfaction of bringing down the Justice League and Lex would take the super out of Superman. He would control the world. It was only a matter of time now.

* * *

><p>Miss. Anhelio left her last class and changed clothes into a long pencil skirt and nice white blouse. She added tan heels and put her hair into a pony tail. Today was the day. She had been offered a new job by the younger teenager Jezebelle Alarico yesterday at her old work in AT&amp;T and now she was going to really start her life. She graduated in three months and her world was finally starting to look up. Her dad would have been so proud of her, she just knew. After working her butt off in high school, and now in collage, her hard work was paying off. She was one of the first in a new company that would launch her into a brand new life.<p>

She got out a taxi, smoothed her clothes and walked across a busy road to the front of a large skyscraper with large black words hanging in the front proclaiming the building as 'Proteccion' _Protection_ in Spanish. She grinned at her own fortune and suppressed the wild urge to smile at her luck. She was finally doing it. She was starting her life.

* * *

><p>I call Karina as I wait for the reporters in the next room to sit down. Her phone rings twice before she picks up. "Karina," I say at once.<p>

"Mistress." Her voice was slightly exasperated. After being the third call in the last ten minuets, I couldn't fault her.

"Are you sure you can't-"

"Mistress Alarico I insist that you concentrate on your speech this afternoon. You don't want Dinah coming after you again like she did this morning."

I roll my eyes at the library room ceiling. I was waiting in City Hall, sitting in an extra small private study with a mass of reporters outside the door waiting for me about my 'scandal'. "I've already got it written, don't worry. What I need though is you being here. Come back and help me, please?" I ask pouting visibly even though she couldn't see me.

"Mistress Alarico, you know of the meeting you already arranged. You don't want a tarnished reputation this early in your business as being unreliable as well as double timing young men." I heard the smile in her voice and I stuck out my lower lip in my isolated room.

"You hurt me Karina. But alright, I understand. Just make sure that Miss. Anhelio signs the contract. I have a good feeling about her."

"And Miss Tianna?" Karina asks. "Is she to remain here as well?"

"She's there?" I ask, surprised.

"Sir sent her to me, he said as one of your 'chief' advisors, I need protection." I heard the scorn in her voice and I roll my eyes.

"He's worried that's all."

"The man does not have the capability to be worried. He has no emotions."

I smile. "AAAhh but that's what he wants you to think. I think that in reality, our Mister Sir actually likes you."

Karina huffs in annoyance. "Eso es realmente ridículo." _That is truly ridiculous._

"¿Escucho la negación en el aire?" _Do I hear denial in the air?_

"Goodbye Mistress."

I smile. "Just keep Tianna with you. Let her watch the process and make her look like a true body guard. I'll talk to you later."

"I am being protected by a women who carries child. I don't think that she would be protecting me if anything happened."

"You underestimate her. She's still a badass even if she is pregnant. _Sir_ made it so."

"You will not give up the romantic fantasy of that will you?"

"Not a chance."

"Good bye Mistress."

"Come back in one piece alright?"

"Si. Adios."

A knock on the door echoed through the small room and I look up expectantly. My face turns serious and all laugh lines from my conversation with Karina disappear. I square my shoulders, smooth out the lines in my fitted suit and breathe deeply. _All right, let's get this over with._

* * *

><p>Karina opens the door to the small Mexican girl and nods her into the room. Miss. Anhelio enters with a straight face and Karina automatically see's what Jezebelle likes about her. She mentally approves of Jezebelle's choice and sits down at a long wooden table surrounded by windows. Miss Anhelio sits across from her and Blaze stands behind Karina in a dark black suit and tightly tied back hair.<p>

"Good afternoon Miss. Anhelio. My name is Karina and behind me in Tianna. Miss. Alarico says you have potential to be a major asset to this company. Her compliments don't come often and when they do, they must be assorted accordingly. I am here to asses you as a potential employee to Proteccion. Your assessment starts now. Why do you want to be apart of this company?"

* * *

><p>Lex Luther watched the interview with Jezebelle Alarico in his study, his face set in a smile. She wasn't at her company, and that was perfect to him. He didn't want to kill her, he wanted to show her his power. He leaned back in his chair and turned the volume up. Jezebelle was answering questions.<p>

"...No the other kiss was a sort of goodbye kiss. Something that won't happen again."

"So it's true you are officially dating Dick Grayson?" a reporter asked from the crowd in front of her.

"Yes," she stated.

Lex shook his head. Why people cared of this teenager's love life was beneath him. Who honestly cared what this kid's hormones were doing? It had nothing to do with business. Luther hadn't even bothered to look into the story of this so called 'scandal'. All he had gotten out of it was that she kissed two different guys in public. One was Wayne's kid, the other was some other teen. Apparently, he was a mystery man, but Lex couldn't care either way. It had nothing to do with him.

His phone rang. Lex looked down and recognized the call number. "Prometheus?"

"Is the line secure?"

"Like always."

"Two minuets and counting."

Lex smiled and closed the phone. "Good."

* * *

><p>Karina wrote another comment on the résumé in front of her. She nodded at the woman and Miss. Anhelio, first name Mariah, switched from speaking from Spanish to French.<p>

'Habla cuatro idiomas, incluyendo Español, Inglés, Francés y Ruso.' _Speaks four languages including Spanish, English, French and Russian_, she wrote.

* * *

><p>Lex checked his clock. One minuet. He watched the interview and Jezebelle. "And how do you think this will affect your newly blossoming business?" another reporter asked on the screen.<p>

Jezebelle set her shoulders. "My business and my personal life are two completely different parts of my life. One does not cross the other." She smiled. "Well, unless I have homework." The reporters in front of her laughed and Lex was tempted to snort in exasperation. _What did they see in her?_

* * *

><p>Dinah sat with Dick and nodded at him. "Okay, as long as this isn't some mission from Batman to get close to her."<p>

"I wouldn't do that to her Dinah. I do like her," the teen answered immediately.

Dinah watched him for a moment before nodding. "I believe that."

Dick nodded too. "Good because I want you to be able to let me take her out somewhere this weekend."

Dinah raised an eyebrow. "Where to?"

Dick smiled. "Somewhere special. She says she wants to know the people she dates. She doesn't really know either robin or Dick Grayson. I want to show her both."

Dinah smiled back and nodded. "Okay. This weekend you can. I'll get Karina to set aside some time for you."

Dick leaned against the cushions and sighed in relief. Their talk really hadn't been so bad after all. "Okay, thanks."

Dinah smiles again. "It's no problem. I know you'll look after her for-"

From the left of them, an emergency screen popped up on the wall and a bright red dot showed up along with a deafening beeping sound. Robin and Dinah immediately got to their feet and ran to the screen along the wall.

"What is it?" Dinah asked, her eyes scanning the screen.

"A power surge. Somewhere in California."

"What kind of power surge?"

Dick's eyes flew over the screen and he opened a holographic keyboard. "Wait no, it's in New Jerse- South Dakota... Idaho..." Dick started typing rapidly. "The server is bouncing off of several different ghost drives. I can't track it."

"But what is it?"

"It's..." he squinted at the screen and a cold dread filled him. "It's a tracking device."

Dinah didn't understand. "What kind of tracking device would use that much power to pop up on our screens?"

Dick typed frantically. "Not a lot of things, and none of them good."

"Well what's it targeting?" Dinah asks.

Dick stopped typing and the cold sinking feeling filled his body, closing his throat. "P-Proteccion."

Dinah's eyebrows came together. "Protecci-" understanding crossed her face and she lunged for the phone in her pocket. She pressed buttons on the screen frantically and put the phone to her ear. Dick paid her no attention and began trying to track the ghost signal.

"Karina? Karina! Karina, listen to me," Dinah shouted into the phone. "Get out of the building. No, Listen and get out now! It's dangerous, and someone targeting the-"

Dick's eyes widened. The red dot became silver and Dick jumped to his feet. "Get her out! Get her out now! It's attacking!"

"Karina! Karina get out! Get out! Get out n-" Dinah broke off and the speakers on the phone let Dick hear someone screaming on the other side. "Karina!"

Dick opened another screen and called up security cameras around the area of Proteccion. Several overlapping views opened forwards and Dinah began screaming into the phone. "KARINA!"

Dick watched as one by one, the same image assaulted his vision. A blue laser beam crashed into the top of a tall skyscraper labeled at the front with black letters spelling 'Proteccion'. Windows exploded from every level and the roof burst into a million pieces. Debris started falling from the sky and Dick opened up an emergency signal on the Justice League. "Calling all Leaguers. Proteccion in Gotham has been attacked and I'm requesting immediate backup from all League. Potential deaths and injuries from civilians will be present."

Dick cut off the message and looped it to all League member's earpieces. Conner, Kaldur, Megan and Zatanna ran into the room, horror struck. "What's happening?" Megan asked immediately, her voice reaching an abnormally high pitch.

"Proteccion is being attacked in Gotham," Dick stated, his voice low.

"Is Jezebelle-"

Dick shook his head. "No, she's in city hall. Someone will inform her. Right now, we have innocents to save. Team, gear up and call the rest to arrive there as soon as possible." Dick stood up and shook himself from the horrible images that were playing out in front of him. Megan, Kaldur, Conner and Zatanna stared at the horrible images in strange fascination as if it was all just a movie playing out in front of them. Dick stared for a moment longer too watching as the top floor of the skyscraper exploded into an inferno of flames. "NOW!" Dick yelled at the team. They jumped, their minds back in their bodies and they turned from the TV.

They ran from the room and Dinah yelled into the phone again, her voice desperate. "Karina! RUN!"

Dick stared at Dinah for a moment before he turned his back on the older woman and ran from the room, the scream of the people in the skyscraper echoing in his ear. _How many people were in there? How many people were already dead?_

* * *

><p>Lex smiled as the first news crew filmed the terror at Proteccion. Glass littered the ground, people were screaming in the chaos and fires were stretching out from the top floor to the rest of the building. "Here at Gotham News, we are the first to be witnessing the terrorism at Proteccion. Someone, or <em>something<em> exploded the first top of the building and destroyed the ceiling of the skyscraper. Fires have spread from the top floor to the first fifteen at the top. No one knows how many are present in the newly built building, but people are still evacuating from the bottom. Nearly two hundred have left."

Lex smiled wider at the woman's shrill voice and leaned comfortably in the chair. If his machine could do this is such a short time, he knew that picking off the Justice League's powers would be easier than next to no work.

He was about to rule.

* * *

><p>I answer the latest question and take a sip of water from a glass cup near me. "Now, are there any more questi-"<p>

Mia hurried up the steps to me and walked up to my podium. She leans forwards to my ear and I cover the microphone with my hand in an automatic response. _What is she doi-"_

"Jezebelle, Proteccion has been attacked."

Cold shock, fear, horror, and despair hit me in a single wave. Her voice was low and carefully toned to act normally, but I could hear the tension in her vowels. She was terrified. I clench my fears in my fists and nod once. Mia steps backwards and I look to the curious faces of reporters around me. "This session is dismissed and over, I am needed elsewhere." I back away from the microphone and Mia takes the small of my back with her hand; leading me away from the stand and the shocked reporters. Questions were shouted at my back, but I began to run.

* * *

><p><strong>Cliff hanger. You'll see what happens next<strong>

**~Missmusicluver**

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	34. Chapter 34

**Sorry for the long wait. ... midterms you know?**

**Here's chapter 34 :)**

**Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all. I own Jezebelle.**

* * *

><p>Fear clogs my lungs but pushes my stumbling feet to a sprint. Proteccion was attacked. DS's words echo throughout my brain again and again as if it was a cd stuck on loop. My body moves without my consent and I jump straight over City Hall's steps down to the sidewalk.<p>

"Jezebelle!" DS yells out behind me.

In front of City Hall were more reporters. Stunned faces and risen eyebrows gleamed under the cloudy Gotham sky when their eyes caught my face. I stop for half a moment. Cameras instantly come up and blinding flashes of lights crash against my eyes. I flinch backwards in the next second and put my hand over my eyes. DS's suddenly behind me and pushes the small of my back forwards. Flashes of lights hit my hand, but I close my eyes anyways against the reporters. Go away.

"Jezebe-"

"How does it feel-"

"-attack on your company-"

"-response to your newest-"

"-responsibility for the dead?"

"-contribution from the

"Are you planning-"

"How are you-"

"Why did you-"

"Miss-"

"-Jezebelle-"

The voices rose over the others nearest them and before I could hit the bottom of the sidewalk, they were screaming at me. Lights hit me from all sides, and DS's voice was being drowned out next to me. I only caught half of what she said. "He'll- …-driving- … -second."

I turn my face to her voice and squint my eyes open to her. "What?" I scream.

DS is looking over the heads of the reporters around me and she shakes her head. She suddenly leans down to me and her lips come close to my ear. "He's here. Come on."

I look at her, trusting, but wary. Lights hit my face and DS's arm wraps around my waist. She puts her hand out in front of us and begins running through the reporters, pushing aside anyone who gets in her way. The part away from us, and I duck my face away from the lights and growing questions. DS stops suddenly and I look upwards. A short black limo pulls up to the side of the sidewalk and stops in front of DS and I. Ds doesn't even wait for the for the car to stop before she's opening the door and pushing me in. I climb into the backseat and scoot to the farthest seat for DS to come in. I look back to the door and DS smiles lightly. Her short hair swings in front her green eyes and she nods once. Any warmth I had felt from her security leave my body.

She was going to leave me alone.

"I'm going to get Sir. He's going to want to apart of this."

I nod. I understand. I'm the boss. I need to do this alone anyways.

She nods back and closes the door.

I buckle myself in to the car and force myself to look away from the empty seat next to me. I need to do this alone. I started this. I am the boss. It's my responsibility.

Telling myself this doesn't help the empty feeling settling itself into the cold pit of my stomach and the hallow fissure in my heart.

When did I get so soft?

* * *

><p>Lex sat back and watched the top of the building crumble in on itself on his TV in silent glee. Gray and black smoke sprang upwards in a huge mushroom cloud and spread itself over the surrounding area like a gray rain. Outlines of terrified people screaming and shouting in the chaos of the debris were seen in the camera's blurry eye view. Lex drank a small sip of his Mendis Coconut Brandy and grinned with the corners of his mouth at his own victory.<p>

The heroes had arrived a little earlier, vainly trying to make sense of the hundreds of people screaming in the streets and sides of the building. He had even seen his 'son' there trying to help the wretched people. _Superboy_, Lex thought, _has so much more potential. With his strength, and the brains I have possessed for him..._ Lex smiled easily and let his feet relax on his silver and chrome desk. He watched the panic on the screen in front of him for a couple more seconds before a twisted lift of his mouth spread across his face in a suddenly clear and somewhat, ironic, idea. He lazily picked up his office phone and dialed a number to his secretary.

His secretary answered softly. Lex let himself smile at the insecurity in her voice. "Get me the number for Gotham's Recon and Reconstruction. I'm going to be making a charitable donation to rebuild the _awful_ destruction going on down there."

The young woman on the other line didn't ask questions, but obeyed immediately and brainlessly. Just the way he liked them. "Yes, of course Sir, right away."

Lex hung up the phone and continued to watch the live report on the news with a small smile still playing across his lips, and his hands folded together neatly in his lap.

* * *

><p>The secretary just outside of Lex Luthor's office put down the office phone and stood up. She had dark brown hair with dyed auburn streaks that showed in the pinned up bun she wore today. She pressed down her black pencil skirt and jacket down flat and walked around her large silver desk. The junior secretary across from her stood up too, but the older woman shook her head and walked away from her bosses office in a brisk pace.<p>

"Is there anything you need me to do ma'am?" the younger woman asked.

The secretary turned to the younger woman and smiled neatly. "Yes, actually, Mr. Luthor wants you to contact Gotham Recon and Reconstruction and donate 3 million dollars from file X-34TFB2 to them."

The younger woman didn't question the older, but nodded and sat back down at the silver and glass desk hurriedly, writing on a nearby sticky tab. "Three million?"

The older secretary nodded once. "Three million." She turned away from the two desks in front of the double door entrance into Lex's office and started walking down a long silver and blue colored hallway to the elevator at the end. "I'm getting lunch. Be back in thirty."

The black suited secretary didn't see the younger woman look up sharply and narrow her eyes thinly at the back of her superior. Instead, the older woman stepped into the elevator and waited for the elevator doors to close. She pressed 'G' once and watched at the doors closed soundly in front of her. As soon as they did, a small voice in her right ear clicked on.

"Good job, now get back. If he really was responsible, he couldn't have done it alone."

The older woman straightened her side-bangs and subtly pressed the earpiece in her ear so her microphone would turn on. She was very aware of the cameras in the glass panels behind her. "Okay, I'm on my way back down now." The elevator started moving downwards and the woman stared at the blinking lights of the floors she was descending. "You were right though, just to let you know. His secretary's computer was connected to his mainframe. "

"So you got it?"

"All of it."

"Did you see what was-"

"No. But I definitely think he was a part of the bombing of _Proteccion_."

"Why?"

"Robin, I heard his voice. If you had heard how… just how smug he sounded, you would know too. It was _disgusting._"

"Miss Martian, I'm not saying anything against you I just-"

There was a scream in the background of Megan's earpiece and her hand came up quickly to her earpiece. Her caution of not being seen flew out the window. "Robin? Robin!?"

Static hit Megan's ears, but a heavy breathing also filled Miss Martian's hearing. "Sorry. Beam fell. Had to get a civilian out of the top floors."

Megan sighed quietly, the knot in her stomach loosening a little. "Watch out, if you die in there, Jezebelle will kill me."

Megan thought she heard the snort of a light laugh. "Just take care of the flash drive Megan. That might hold the evidence that we need to put Lex behind bars for good."

Megan clutched the small black piece of plastic in her hand tightly. "I will. I'll be at _Proteccion _in less than-"

"No, take the flash drive back to the cave. Then send it by Zeta Beam to the Bat-cave. Batman will want to see it immediately."

The elevator dinged for her to get off. Megan walked out of the elevator and walked with a straight back into a large foyer filled with other black suited men and women holding briefcases or talking into cellphones and blue-tooths. Megan still costumed as the middle aged woman, slipped among the throng and expertly guided herself to the doors. When she hit the outside air, she walked down the sidewalk, head ducked. Slowly, she changed her facial features with the people around her wrapped up in their own world.

"Okay, will do. After that I-"

"You can come and help the search and resc-" Robin broke off. "Oh, Superman's here." There was another little pause and Dick seemed to sigh exuberantly. "Oh _now_ you all stop panicking."

Megan bit back a smile and tilted her head upwards, her hair a vibrant red, her skin pale and her eyes back to a bright green. "I'll see you in a few."

Megan suddenly heard an enormous blast in her ears. She put her hand up to her ear piece and flinched involuntarily at the ear piece screaming into her eardrum. "Robin?" she asked quietly. "You there?" There was a long silence and panic built in Megan's throat. "ROB-"

"-I'm here," Robin's voice cut in, his voice gruff and weary. "The front part of the building broke away and fell. I'm okay, but civilians are panicking again. I've got to go. Hurry." Static hit Megan's eardrums again and she pressed against the earpiece twice, shutting off the transmission.

She clutched the flash drive in her sweating hands and began to sprint down the sidewalk. She transfigured her heels to her ankle boots and made her skin green. People watching her sprint gasped and pointed at her as she past them.

"Did you see her!"

"That's-!"

"Miss Martian!"

"I can't believe it, that's actually-"

"No way, where is-"

"No over there-"

"Look at her go, why can't she just-"

Megan took off into the air and the talking turned into yells and hoots from people under her. "LOOK it's the Martian!"

"I've never seen her before!"

"She's _flying_!"

"No shi-"

"WOWWWW"

Megan left the scene of people staring up at her into the clouds of Metropolis, mentally calling the Bioship to her. The tone in Robin's voice wasn't one she heard often, and when she did, bad things always followed. It was like a sort of warning bell. Megan felt her Bioship closing in closer to her, but half of her brain was still thinking in loops, shocked over the bombing. _Unfortunately, Robin's warning means Jezebelle. And frankly, whenever her name comes up anymore, bad things tend to follow as well._ So a total of two bad omens in once big situation. Megan felt like dropping out of the sky and pretending to be a human for the next few hours."Hold on, I'm coming."

* * *

><p>Chaos, utter chaos was what I saw when my limo stopped a mile away from my bombed company. "Mr. Lee can't we get any closer!?" I yell. Sirens ring outside my car and reporters gather at the windows, screaming for answers, for quotes and my approach at how to handle this. I stare out the windows, shock icing the linings of my stomach so cold, I thought I would snap in half. <em>I was attacked. Someone attacked me. I was ATTACKED.<em> It rang in my head over and over again, repeating and pounding itself into my brain, screaming for understanding. _How could- who would- why? Why would someone __**do**__ something like this? _ An ambulance streaked past my car, skidding fallen dust into the air and covering the reporters.

"No ma'am, I can't move forwards anymore, I apologize," Mr. Lee said from the front. He looks back at me from the rear view mirror and I look out the window.

I hold back a deep sigh. "It's okay. Close the door Mr. Lee, I need to make a phone call."

Mr. Lee nods his raven head. "Of course Miss Alarico." He glances down and a sound proof black wall separates Mr. Lee's compartment and mine.

I watch the wall come up, and after I'm confident that I'm by myself, I pull out my phone and call the first person that comes to my mind. I locate his number, let the phone ring and I swallow deep when his voice comes through my speaker. "Jezebelle."

"Bruce." My voice sounds even, but I look down at my lap and my fists clench together. He owned a company, he knew the complications of juggling two lives and keeping them separate. He could tell me what to do. He could point me into action.

Because right now, I wasn't even sure if I could stand up in front of the camera's, let alone talk and explode in an explanation of a premeditated plan thoroughly.

"_Proteccion_ was attacked."

"I'm on my way for recon." His answer was simple and plain. He must have had an idea why I was calling, but he was going to make me say it out loud. The little….

I sigh. "Bruce I need your help. I don't know what to do."

There was silence. "Dinah would be more appropriate for giving advice in-"

"She doesn't know the invisible lines of the business world Bruce. You do. I need _your_ help."

There was another silence. Was he seriously thinking about this? "What do you need?"

"An explanation, an excuse," I say thinking of the people standing outside my window. "What do I say to the press? They're all just outside of me right now. What do I… Bruce what do I do?" _Huh, asking help from an adult? This is new._

Bruce didn't answer immediately as if he understood the significance of me calling him as well. Fortunately, he didn't out me on it. Instead he says, "Tell the press that truth. Someone unknown made a terrorist attack against your company. You are taking responsibility for the hurt workers and paying full wages for those who are seriously hurt. You're donating money to the cleanup of the surrounding area and will be assisting the police in the investigation on this."

I nod to every word and my fists steadily unclench themselves. "Okay." I nod again to myself and straighten my shoulders. "What about me helping?" I ask, thinking about my current situation of having no costume or mask. A makeshift mask like the one I had used against Two-Face would be out of the question. No costume would be a problem. I would need to fix that at some point.

"You need to be in the eye of the public for now. Stay out of costume for a while. Someone has it out for you and until the League figures out who and why, it would be best if you stayed out of the masked world."

"So, in other words, stay out of your way."

A pause. "You could put it that way."

"It sounds that way."

"Leave the dramatics for Dinah Butterfly. I have bigger things to worry about then your _feelings_." A single click echoed through my ear and I listened to a singing dial tone for a moment before I lifted the phone away from my ear torn half in shock and embarrassment. _Ouch. Burn Jezebelle. Burn._

I put my phone away in my pocket and tap on the wall between me and Mr. Lee. The wall sinks into the car slowly and Mr. Lee looks at me from the rear view mirror. His window is open and an older looking police officer is standing outside looking straight in at me. His eyes meet mine and he nods once in greeting, his lightly wrinkled skin dusted gray from the falling debris reaching even a mile away. He has a thick mustache on his upper lip and dark blonde hair. I instantly recognize his face.

"Commissioner Gordon." I nod respectively at him and he doesn't look away from my eyes.

"Miss Alarico, would you step out of the car and have a word with me?"

I stare at him for a moment, my hands reclenching themselves in my lap. I was ready to pounce and run from the fed's, but reality crashed down around me when a deafening BOOOOOMM smashed against my ears and made Commissioner Gordon turn around behind him. The front part of the large skyscraper was cracking away from itself and a chunk the size of a small house had broken off and was falling to the ground.

Bruce's words come to mind. …_assisting the police in the investigation… _Commisioner Gordon turns back to me, his blue eyes hardened like steel behind his glasses. He opens his mouth to say something, but I nod at Commissioner Gordon. _And assist I will. The press issue would be handled too if it looked like I was helping the police department in any way I can._ I move myself to the door, and Mr. Lee jumps out of the car and opens the door for me before I can open it on my own.

Reporters swarm the entrance of the car in an instant and I keep my face impassive. Commissioner Gordon stands on the other side of the car entrance and he holds his hand out for me like a gentleman. I take it, knowing the double meanings behind letting him hold onto me. His large hand clasps around mine like a handcuff and I step out of the car all the way. Mr. Lee closes the door behind me.

Reporters are in front of me again, but Commissioner Gordon has his arm up and several more police officers come forwards too. He guides me away around the limo and into a tapped off police square in the middle of the intersection. There's a tent set up in the middle of the square and I'm led into the white makeshift.

I'm sat down in a plastic white chair, and Commissioner Gordon sits down across from me. "I'm going to have to leave to look at the damage and help some of the people still trapped in the building. Sergeant Essen will be questioning you today."

Behind him was a blonde woman with wavy shoulder length hair and blue eyes. She stares at me unblinking, evaluating me. I stare back at her, unflinched and she nods in greeting. I nod back.

"Afternoon Officer."

Commissioner Gordon takes this as his time to leave and he turns out of the tent. Sargent Essen watches him leave, before turning to me. "Afternoon Miss _Keating._"

* * *

><p>Dick lifted a fallen section of a wall. Sweat dripped down his face and his arms hurt from the continuous lifting and his voice felt cracked from barking orders at the deeply shocked or crazed people. He pulled away metal linings of a once tall wall, and he saw Superman from the corner of his eye flying around, helping people yelling for help from the windows at the side of the building.<p>

He lifted a wooden board from the ground. Underneath was a chocolate colored hand. Dick touched the earpiece in his ear. "Superman. I found one."

Dick lifted debris around the hand and started towards the arm and neck. Superman landed next to him and lifted the rest of the heavy debris with a swipe of his hand. _It's a woman_, was the first thought in Dick's head. She wore a long work skirt with a black blazer and black shoes. She had dark brown skin, but that was all you could see, as she was lying on her stomach.

"She's- she's covering someone," Superman said next to him.

Robin leaned downwards and checked the heartbeat. Nothing.

He pulled the woman over and he forced himself to breathe evenly. Tianna's eyes were wide open and her mouth was open slightly as if still shocked. The front of her blouse was ripped downwards, and Dick's eyes rested on the bulge in the front of her stomach. His jaw locked together.

"Are you sure there isn't a heartbeat? Even a smaller one?"

Superman was silent for a moment. "No, why-" Superman looked closer at the woman and a dark depressed feeling came over his shoulders. "She's pregnant."

"She _was_ pregnant."

"Do you know her?" Superman asked, hearing the picked up rate of Dick's heartbeat.

"I did."

Dick gently laid Tianna's head on the gray covered ground and looked to the body she had been protecting. He could only take so many guesses at who it had been. His eyes widened none the less when an older woman's brown skin and black work suit met his eyes. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was lightly parted. If Dick didn't know any better, she could have been sleeping.

"Robin. She doesn't have a heartbeat," Superman stated tiredly. Robin knew how he felt, worn out and useless. He hadn't stopped it and this was the now the fifteenth body.

"We tried."

Superman didn't say anything for a moment. "You think Jezebelle's going to see it that way?"

Robin didn't answer. No, he didn't think she would. "Come on, you're going to have to bring the bodies down."

"Which one?"

Robin stared at the face of Karina and he suddenly felt bone tired. "Tianna. Take Tianna first."

* * *

><p>"So I changed my name. Bite me it's a free country."<p>

"Not when you're underage it's not."

"I was adopted."

"Out of state and country."

"We already went over this."

"And we'll keep going over it until you tell me what you're hiding."

"I'm not hiding anything."

"Yes, yes you are."

"No… I'm definitely not. But I am starting to find it hard hiding my annoyance with your questions."

"Because they're hitting a nerve?"

"Because you're annoying."

It had been thirty minuets already and this lady wasn't giving up. Officer Essen had looked me straight in the eye as soon as she could and started popping off questions like a bat out of hell. Who was I? How old was I? Did I have any kids? Am I married? Do I work for an affiliated gang?

Did I look like I was an amnesia, kid ridden, secretly married, run away gang member case to you?

No.

No I did not. Don't even answer that question.

This woman was starting to get on my already sawed nerve. And it was starting to show.

"_Why_ do you find it annoying? Trying to hide the next-"

"Since when have you time to also be a physiatrist Officer Essen?" I ask sweetly, running an undertone of sarcasm.

She grimaced at me, apparently getting tired of our game as well. She put her elbows on the desk in front of us and sighed. "Look-"

Someone from door to the tent opened behind us and another officer came running in. "Commissioner Gorgon wants her at ground zero."

Her eyes snapped upwards, and my stomach did a leap for joy then sunk to the bottom of my legs in the next second. Why did he want to see me?

Officer Essen looked at the other police officer for a moment before her eyes went sort of soft. She looked back at me with unmistakable pity.

Oh shit.

I walked to line of bodies covered in black sheets. There were twenty three so far.

"This one," a baby faced police officer says to me, pointing to one of the many newly covered bags of bodies.

I step up to the body bag, my heart reaching my feet, palms icy and forehead hot. _God please._ Please what, was out of my reach of mind. What I wanted was never going to happen. _Just…Just don't do it to me again._

The officer zips the front of the bag downwards and Tianna's dark brown hair and skinned faced meets my eyes. _Mia. _Her eyes are closed, but the dirt and scratches across her face tell me all I need to know about what happened to her. She was dead. H_er child is dead._ My throat closed up and guilt hit me like lighting. _And it's my fault. I told Blaze to go with Karina to the-_

A dead weight hit the bottom of my stomach. _Karina._

"Miss Alarico-" Commissioner Gordon's voice says from behind me. I turn slightly away from Tianna's body to let him know I had heard him. My eyes remain glued to Tianna.

"Commissioner Gordon…" I say back immediately, lost in my own thoughts to really understand what I was saying.

"Commissioner," a deep raspy voice came from farther behind me to the left. I turn around automatically from the body bag to the voice and Commissioner Gordon turns with me. Behind me stood Batman, black cape, mysterious voice and all.

"Batman," Commissioner Gordon nods, grim.

"The residue left by the explosion shows that the explosion itself wasn't caused by any type of mineral or deposit substance."

Commissioner Gordon clenched his mustached jaw. "So no C4 or-"

"No. The residue suggests a sort of chemical blast that ignited on a remote ghost drive."

"So the attacker wasn't near when this happened?"

"No."

"Then why-"

"I would suggest he wanted publicity, and a lot of it."

"A new villain trying to make himself a name?"

"No, he would have done so already."

"So a hate crime?"

"Possibly."

Commissioner Gordon put a hand to the bridge of his nose. "What kind of … machine or explosive could target an area this big and put it to waste this fast?"

"I'll call you with the details later Commissioner. Right now there's the-"

"Superman!" Someone from the streets shouted excitedly like a kid getting his favorite present on Christmas morning despite the scene around everyone.

Heads turned but I keep my eyes and ears on Batman. What did he mean a remote control chemical blast? On a ghost drive? What kind of chemical could blow up a building? A large, heavily built skyscraper too! Joker's chemical gas could spread out wide and far if he got a large amount, but it made people laugh until they couldn't breathe, not rip apart concrete walls and metal frames. What kind of explosion was I dealing with and who would want to hurt me like this?

Batman didn't look upwards either and his masked eyes look down to mine across from him. He doesn't nod or greet me in any way. I don't do anything either except blink. Commissioner Gordon's eyes and head comes downwards and I feel a burst of air hit me from the back.

"I have another one," Superman's kind and deep voice says behind me. I don't turn because I know what he means. He has another body.

Someone from the police group comes forwards and I step to the side methodically to let them pass me. Commissioner Gordon watches me closely and I can feel his eyes on my downturned head. A zipper sips and plastic is moved. Car's honk from somewhere down the street, hundreds of onlookers near us talk, shout, whisper things in their group and the noises wash over me like a smothering blanket.

I almost didn't hear him calling my name.

"Miss Alarico?" the baby faced police officer is back and his eyes look sad and cautious. Never a good mix. Ever.

I fix my face into a unfeeling mask and look at the police officer. "Yes?"

"We need you to identify the body."

I nod automatically. I am the boss. This is my job and responsibility. Only my constraint and burden. I did this; I wanted this. This is what I signed up for, I needed to deal with it. "Of course."

Superman is setting the body down next to me on a back tarp on a medical bed. I only had to glance to know. Her eyes were closed, her hands were limp, her hair was scattered around her face, but I knew her none the same. Ice fastened itself in the linings of my stomach and a hot prickling itched behind my eyes. My throat closed and my lungs felt like they had been punctured like a deflating balloon.

I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

"Miss Alarico?" The baby faced officer asked.

My throat opens, and the realization smashed against me like a brick wall, letting air hit my lungs. "K-Karina. Her name was Karina Brazzil."

The officer nods, and I stare down unblinking at the body. _Both dead. Both. _ It seemed to be the only thing running through my mind, stopping all other thoughts and turning me into stone. I couldn't move, feel or let alone breathe.

I would know it as shock later, but now, it felt like ice was running through my veins, pumping through my heart, shocking itself into my brain and drowning my skin. A large hand grasps my shoulder lightly. "Miss Alarico?" the voice was warm and soft. Like it knew what I was feeling and knew exactly what to do to make the cold go away.

Suddenly I was freezing.

I look away from the body and to the hand on my shoulder. I turn around and look up into blue eyes, strong chin and raven dark hair. Superman watches my face and I watch his in return. His hand was warm, but it only warmed the top of my skin. My body was still cold, and I still couldn't seem to really breathe.

"Dinah," I whisper barely loud enough for me to hear. "I need Dinah." Superman seemed to hear me and his eyes narrowed themselves onto my face. It was the last thing I remembered seeing.

My eyes glossed over and I felt my mind reach deep into itself into a protected world. A warmer world. A place where Karina's face wasn't pale and Tianna wasn't sleeping on the job. A world where I didn't have people dying because of me every time I turned around.

I let myself sink into my mind, and slowly, I didn't feel cold anymore. I didn't feel anything.

I was gone.

* * *

><p>Superman caught the falling Jezebelle quickly, his eyes widening. Jezebelle landed into his arms, her body weight collapsing against him and the young police man next to the newest addition of dead bodies came forwards automatically. He held out his arms and Superman handed the unconscious body to the police officer carefully.<p>

He set his jaw as the police officer picked the teenager up and laid her down on medical bed. Sirens across the city rang in his ears. He needed to go and help. He looked away from the teen and the whited out eye of Batman stared at him.

Superman didn't say anything, and Batman didn't either.

"Superman, we have confirmation," Dinah's voice in his ear piece went off briskly and cut his thoughts off.

"Luthor?"

"And a couple of new friends."

"Where is he?"

"In his office in Metropolis."

Superman set his teeth together and glanced at the growing number of dead bodies. "I'll be right there." Superman took off into the air and hovered above the disaster zone three hundred feet in the air. His eyes took in the area and anger rushed through his veins. _So much destruction._

Dinah was quiet for a moment on the other end. "We have enough information on him to bury him. The girl he was dating at Andres's place in Bolivia, you remember?"

"You mentioned something before."

"We found her."

"Can you-"

"Link it to him? Already done. Batman's toys sure make it easier to solve a murder case."

"She's dead?"

"Executed, by the look of the bullet hole in her head."

"I'm on my way." Superman began flying towards Luthor Corp. "And Dinah?"

"On my way for backup."

"If I were you, I'd switch to mother mode. Tianna and Karina are dead."

"What? Are you sure? Have they-"

"Jezebelle identified the bodies."

Dinah was silent. "Is she-"

"She collapsed. It was like gravity just crushed her."

Superman waited for Dinah to explode into worry. Instead, he was stunned at the dry tone in her voice when she cut the silence again. "It's about time."

"S- w- What?"

"It hasn't even been a year Clark. If you lost as many people as she has in the last couple of months, where do you think your sanity would lay?"

Clark didn't answer. "Will she be okay?"

"She'll find her way." Dinah didn't answer his question either. "First things first, let's hook Luther and put him behind bars. For good this time."

Clark pushed his ear piece. "My pleasure."

* * *

><p><strong>Jezebelle just went off the deep end. Two more are dead. I should probably stop killing off my characters...<strong>

**Anyways! Sorry for the lack of updates. But yay here we go!**

**Next up: Jezebelle's lost and Dick to the rescue and Luthor's on hiatus.**

**~Missmusicluver**


	35. Chapter 35

**Hey guys, sorry for the long wait! I had alot going on and I was uninspired. So anyways, i'll try to be faster... here's the next chapter.**

**ENJOY!**

**PS: I suggest rereading over the last chapter, i made a few changes. It was actually the Pregnant Blaze that died NOT Mia, sorry, i accidentally got the names switched up. Horrible right? Anyways, so yes I killed off a pregnant woman. ... Yeaaaaa. okay, I'ma go now.**

* * *

><p><strong>LAST TIME: <strong>

"It hasn't even been a year Clark. If you lost as many people as she has in the last couple of months, where do you think your sanity would lay?"

Clark didn't answer. "Will she be okay?"

"She'll find her way." Dinah didn't answer his question either. "First things first, let's hook Luther and put him behind bars. For good this time."

Clark pushed his ear piece. "My pleasure."

* * *

><p>Superman landed on the balcony of Lex Luther's pent house business room. The cement crackled under his feet, but Superman was too mad to care about the destruction he had on Lex's building. Lex had destroyed and killed so many people today; he didn't deserve the easy way out. Not this time. Lex was going to pay. He was going to jail for the rest of his life wearing orange and a metal collar around his neck.<p>

Superman would see to it personally.

"Lex!" Superman shouted. He pushed back the glass door that led to the room and x-rayed the room immediately. Nothing.

"Darn," Superman said. He touched his earpiece. "Superman to Watchtower, Lex isn't here."

He waited for a response. "His signal is still there Superman," Martian Manhunter said.

"Well, he's not. He must have-" Superman's x-ray vision caught the lead lined door behind the bookshelf. "-escaped."

"No one has seen him leave the building."

"He didn't have to leave the building." Superman tore the bookshelf off the wall to reveal the metal door behind it. "He could leave through it."

"Superman?" Martian Manhunter asked confused at what the Kryptonian meant.

Superman ripped the metal door from its hinges. "I'm going after him. He couldn't have gotten too far."

I was asleep, that much I knew.

Images were flashing across my eyes and my mind was spinning like a child's toy spinner top. The images were fuzzy, their faces blurred. The colors were mixing together and I couldn't look at one object for longer than a second before it moved on to something else. Dinah, Tianna, Miranda, Mia, Bruce, my next door neighbor, Miranda, Clark, Mom, the bus driver from fifth grade, Sir, Karina, my eight grade crush, Bruce, Dick, Dick, Dinah, Abby, Conner, Dick, Tianna, Andres… The images went on and on and I couldn't stop them or slow them down.

Panic built in my chest and I screamed. "Stop!"

The images slowed, but didn't stop. I could see the mouths moving of every face, like they were trying to tell me something. Gray clouds moved behind them and I felt my chest heaving.

"-ezebell…"

Their expressions changed from every person, and I couldn't let my eyes stay on one for too long.

"-ezebelle!"

The panic rose inside my chest, like a firecracker about to go off and my mind cracked at the edges of the pressure. "STOP!" I screamed at them all, my anger and panic tipping my voice to sound almost insane. The images stopped spinning, the colors stopped swirling, the faces closed their mouths, and my heart dropped to my feet.

"I- I can't" I said. "I can't keep up. I can't."

The faces stared at me and I closed my eyes to them. But they were still there, open or closed. They were near me, surrounding me, only a foots pace away. I opened my eyes, and they continued to stare at me. Their face all moved together and I wanted to run away from the onslaught of faces near me.

One of the images became transparent and began to grow from the middle. Wispy feet touched the white ground, and arms, legs and a torso followed after, creating the image of medium build woman with long hair and a dimpled chin. My heart stopped working for about half of a second when I realized who it was.

"Mom!" I yelled. My brain was screamed she was fake, my heart tore that she was standing in front of me and my insides seemed to roll into a knot at the face that she was staring at me.

Colors fused with the white outer shell of my mother, and before I could take in the fact that she was being drawn in like a coloring book, blue eyes crinkled at the sides of a creamy white face and a full set of white teeth smiled at me with warmth that seemed to sink into my bones.

"Sweetheart," Mom said to me, shaking her head like she used to when I did something that would amuse her. "We need to have a talk."

Dinah sat at the edge of Jezebelle's bed, her hand running across the teenager's forehead. The skin was hot to the touch, nearly burning. Dinah pulled back and stared at the young woman's pale cheeks. _I should have been there. You shouldn't have fallen alone._

"How is she?" Mia asked, coming to stand behind Dinah next to Jezebelle's bed.

Dinah didn't turn around to acknowledge the younger woman. They had a non-spoken schedule now about this. "Nothing's changed."

Mia didn't say anything immediately, but like the day before and the day before that, she put her hand on Dinah's shoulder in a gesture of comfort. "She'll come back."

"She'd better," Dinah said keeping to the schedule. Her eyes flickered backwards and she put her hands in her lap. "What did you need?"

"There are more reporters outside. Sir caught some near the outside pool." This was also part of schedule. For the last four days, reporters and photographers had been trying to sneak on the ground to get a good shot of what was happening in the house.

Dinah didn't even bother to sigh. "Throw them out and threaten to sue if they invade our privacy."

Mia raised an eyebrow. Dinah had broken the routine with that new instruction. "Can we do that?"

"The League can, when it comes to this."

Mia nodded, still getting used to the fact the woman in front of her was Black Canary. "Yes ma'am."

"Don't call me "ma'am", 'Dinah' is fine."

Mia nodded. "Yes Dinah, I'll get right on it." She turned her on her heel, knowing she wouldn't come back until dinner tonight for the next step in the routine.

"You know…" Dinah said trailing off, and causing the young woman to look back. "We all miss her."

Mia didn't want to answer, but turned around none the less. "Which one?"

"Both of them. They both will be loved and missed."

"Yea. I know."

Dinah met Mia's hard eyes. "It's okay to cry for your team mate, and your boss. No one would think less of you."

Mia kept her eyes hard. "I'll keep that in mind."

Dinah turned back to Jezebelle as Mia left the room. She moved the IV in Jezebelle's arm to make it look more comfortable, before sitting back in the chair she had learned to claim as her 'bed' from the history of previous nights. She sighed deeply, a headache spreading across her head and closed her eyes. _If I ever get my hands on Luther…_ she threatened to herself again for the hundredth time just that day.

Knowing that Luther had escaped and couldn't be found had put not only the League in a bad mood, but the whole household. While Jezebelle sat unresponsive in a bed, the League was working to clean up the crumbled skyscraper and help console families of the dead. Lex had been announced a terrorist to the public during that time, but it only rose the bitter taste in everyone's mouth that he had gotten away. No one was in the mood to deal with the leftovers of the attack.

Like the funerals.

Dinah had held off Blaze's and Katrina's funeral until Jezebelle could wake up. She had learned her lesson from Alarico's funeral, and she knew that the closure of watching the wooden boxes being laid to rest would help Jezebelle in the long run. Just one more thing she had learned from the teen laying in front of her. One more thing to add to the growing list.

"Ugh," Dinah groaned and put her head in her hands. _Why won't you wake up?_

Standing outside of the room, Dick watched the scene with a carefully concealed mask of looking unfazed. His hands were tucked in his pockets neatly and he leaned against the doorway with an almost careless attitude. Only the ones who knew Dick best could see the subtle strain in the young man's face, the clenched fists in his pockets, the too straight back and the stone cold scowl that showed permanently on his face even when he was smiling. Only those who could tell the difference between his attitudes could see how torn Dick was feeling.

He saw Dinah put her head in her hands, and watched as the women he had learned to look up to like a den mother, age years in only a couple of seconds. _Jezebelle,_ Dick thought, _get up. Shake some sense into Dinah and hunt down Lex with a rage from God. Come back… Come back please._

He turned on his heal and walked down the hallway, leaving Dinah with Jezebelle. He knew Dinah needed her more than he did right now. No matter how much he thought he wanted to see Jezebelle. To just touch her hand.

His head dropped as he walked farther out of the house. _Wake up Jez. Dinah needs you._

Mom wasn't the only one to talk to me. I spoke to Dad, to Miranda, to Andres, to Blaze (Who was now not pregnant- though I don't know where her baby could have gone) and even Katrina. They stood around me in a semi-circle, looking at me like satisfied smiles on their faces and standing completely at ease. Trying to touch them had been useless, as my hands passed right through them, but I had forced myself to memorize their faces to keep forever. I stared at each one in turn and sat on the ground. I couldn't feel the floor beneath me, but I stayed there just the same, looking up at them all, just staring.

"I'll never forget this," I whispered.

Mom smiled. "I don't expect you too."

"Just don't forget what we said," Dad said, looking at me like he used to before mom died.

"I won't," I promised smiling back a little.

Miranda smiled next to mom with her hands in Dads. "Now you know."

I stared at my little sister. "I won't blame myself."

She nodded. "Good." She grinned cheekily. "I'd hate to haunt you about you about it later on."

I rolled my eyes. "Out of all the jokes in the world... really?" I deadpanned at the end.

She grinned wider. "You're just jealous."

I gave her the stink eye. "Yea. Real jealous of a little dead girl."

She sniffed. "I don't appreciate that specific term."

I raise an eyebrow. "Would you prefer Rotting-corpse-of-a-young-female-six-feet-under?"

She stuck her tongue out at me, and I gave mom the stink eye in return. "You're letting her get away with too much."

Mom just smiled a little before glancing at my father with some sort of unspoken communication and sighing lightly. "Sweety, you have to leave soon."

"What? Why- I just got here!"

Her smile turned a little sad. "I know baby, and I'm so happy for what we got… but someone else needs you right now."

"_Several_ someone elses," Blaze winked next to my father. Dad didn't look too happy.

"You're needed before things get any worse," Miranda said,

"Worse?" I echoed.

"Baby, you can't stay here. Dinah needs you. The Justice League need you," Mom said.

"Dick needs you," Blaze smirked again. Dad scowled.

"You have to go back and help stop it all before it destroys-"

"Wait, stop what? What- What's going on?"

Mom glanced to Dad and Dad looked to Katrina. I looked to Katrina as well. She stared at me unblinking. "What killed us _Ama_," _Mistress._ "It's only the beginning. It will come back. Bigger and stronger than before, and it will kill hundreds upon thousands of people."

_The explosion,_ I thought. "What is it?" I asked leaning forwards.

"A machine," Miranda answered, taking my eyes of Katrina. "A machine to take peoples special abilities and make them into energy."

"Energy?" I ask.

"A type of Gamma ray," Mom answered. "A type of cosmic wave that could destroy life and poison the world."

I stared at them, barely stopping my jaw from dropping. "What? Why doesn't anyone know? Who is it? Whose behind it? Why doesn't the Justice League stop it? How did they make it? Why are they-"

"Jezebelle it was built to be an absolute power above humanity. It made the option of taking things that weren't meant to be removed and with this absolute power comes a scale of enormous gravity. Absolute power ruins everything absolutely," Katrina interrupted me.

Fear filled my stomach. "How- how would I stop it?"

"By becoming absolute."

"Pardon me?"

Mom didn't look too happy at the way this conversation was going. "The Justice League knew about this Jezebelle, they have for months. They tried to stop the construction of it, but the influence and pockets of the enemy are much farther than they could have anticipated. If they don't stop it soon, nothing will be able to. No power on Earth." She gave me one of her no-nonsense looks. "Not even the most powerful of Superheroes."

"Or the smartest," Blaze said giving me a you-know-who-im-talkin-about stare.

"It's going to be too late by the time they get themselves together to take it apart," mom went on.

I looked between Mom and Katrina quickly, very confused. "What- what does this even have to do with me?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Blaze asked me, putting her hands on her now slender hips. "You have to stop it."

This wasn't a very funny joke. "Yea. Yea right."

"It's not a game Jez, this is serious. You have to use your abilities to stop them," Miranda said.

"I _heal_ people. I don't stop cosmic-whatever-you-wanna-call-it-rays from destroying the world. That's the Justice Leagues job! They're the heroes!"

"And what exactly-,"Andres asked, speaking for the first time, "-are you?"

I opened my mouth, but nothing in my head seemed to comply with my feelings. I shook my head and stood up to face them all on ground level. "Sure as hell not a hero!"

"Language Jezebelle," Mom said offhandedly.

"Were you not trained as a hero was? Do you not wear a mask of a hero? Do you not stand for the same justice that the other 'heroes' stand for?" Andres asked.

"My abilities only go so far tough Andres! I can't just barge in and-"

"You'd be an idiot if you went that route," Blaze rolled her eyes. "You need to be unstoppable before you go against a death ray."

I stared at her incredulously. "How the HELL. Would. I. Go. Against. A. Death. Ray." I stared over at Andres. "And live?"

"By becoming immortal," Miranda's little voice whispered.

I turned slowly and my stomach dropped to the floor in complete-and-honest-shock. I'm pretty sure my jaw did too.

Dinah left Jezebelle's side to go on patrol for Luthor.

As soon as she had left, Dick had made an excuse to Wally and Conner and left to sit by Jezebelle's side. He had walked in, sat in the worn chair next to her, and stared at her shallow skin. He had reached out to touch Jezebelle's hand, only to find her skin ice-cold. He leaned forwards, his eyebrows coming together and held it between both of his. He breathed on her hand and rubbed them between his, not finding the happiness he had expected of finally seeing and touching her for the first time since the explosion.

"Six days Jez," Dick said out loud. "It's time for you to come back."

Jezebelle didn't answer him.

He pushed back a piece of Jezebelle's hair from her face and left his hand on her cheek. "Jez," he said quietly. "Wake up. Jezebelle didn't stir, but her heart also didn't stop either. Dick grimaced at the IV in her arm and put his other hand in Jezebelle's above the feed tube.

He watched her sleep on for a couple of silent minuets before shaking his head slightly. "Just open your eyes," Dick whispered. "Tell me I'm an idiot for worrying about you. For being cheesy. For leaving the team just to see you." He smiled to himself picturing her in his head rolling her eyes at him. "Just open those… beautiful… beautiful eyes." He looked down, embarrassment washing over him.

"A-And it's not just me you know. It's Dinah. And Conner. And Abby… And Mia. Sir. Your company. Your employees. Your friends." He looked down at their joined hands. "They all need you back. Not just me." He stared at their hands for a couple moments. He looked back up to Jezebelle's closed eyes. "But I make the top five who miss you most."

He stared at her pale skin. "It would be between me and Dinah for first place. Or Mia… Or Sir. It's a tie between the four of us I'd say." He grinned at his own weak joke and held on to Jezebelle's hand a little tighter.

"But I'm up there." He swallowed. "Just… waiting." He smiled halfheartedly.

Minuets started to pass by, and Dick began to start talking. There really was no topic; it was just everything on his mind. He talked about Wally, Bruce, schoolwork, his dreams of being a police officer, recent missions in the last six days, the clean up from the explosion, his evidence and conclusions from the weird residue left from the wreckage, the ridiculous amount of time he stared at the clock in his room when he went to bed these nights, the tension between him and Bruce, and anything else that wormed into his head and gave him even the littlest amount of emotion.

He was just talking to talk, and after a long period of time, Dick began to notice his voice was starting to hurt. The pressure and tension build up from that day was off of his shoulders and he felt he could breathe better than hours before. He glanced at the window and saw the sun nearly setting in the horizon. "I'd better go," Dick said to no one in particular, looking out to the window. "Bruce will want to get back on the Jokers latest case and patrol the docks."

"Aw," Jezebelle's voice said from beside him in a smile. "And just when I was getting used to the sound of your voice."

Dick's face snapped around and his eyes widened when he saw Jezebelle's open eyes. "Jez," he breathed.

A small tug at the corner of her mouth lifted Dick's spirits higher than re-catching a convict from Arkham. "Hey Grayson." It turned into a smile. "Miss me much?"

Dick narrowed his eyes at her and held her hands tighter. "You were unresponsive for six days Jez. Everyone was worried."

Jezebelle lost the smile, and looked back and forth between Dick's eyes. "I didn't ask about everyone else." She paused. "Did … _you_ miss me? Were you worri-"

Dick came forwards and pressed his lips against her, cutting her off. He held her face between both of his hands and moved one to the back of her neck. He broke their kiss and stared into her eyes. "Six days," he said quietly. "Not even dating for a full day and you leave me for _six_ days."

Jezebelle swallowed and smiled. "Six days?"

Dick grinned. "It's our weekaversary."

She grinned mischievously back. "Well I couldn't very well miss that now could I?"

Someone cleared their throat at the doorway and Dick and Jezebelle sprung away from each other, both caught off guard. "Sorry to bother, but I have to say, it's good to see you in the land of the living," Mia walked in.

"You could have knocked," grumbled Dick.

"And you could've notified everyone else that she woke up."

"She only just got up!"

"But that didn't come up in your hormone filled head of yours did it?" Mia said, ignoring his comebacks.

Dick fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Would you like me to leave?"

"Yes," Mia stated.

"No," Jezebelle said at the same time.

Dick smirked. "The cripples judgment outweighs yours Mia."

Jezebelle looked playfully crushed. "Cripple? Never mind Mia, I change my mind. Take this peasant out to the-"

"Peasant?" Dick laughed. "Where did that even come fro-"

"Didn't you know I'm royalty?" Jezebelle asked smugly.

Dick didn't know if she was joking or not with the look on her face. He decided to give a smart-ass answer. "Yea, I've noticed how big of a Royal Pain in my ass you are."

Mia hit him over the back of the head lightly and Jezebelle laughed outright. Dick had forgotten just how beautiful her laugh was.

I watched as Dick left the house and Mia called Dinah.

Seeing Dick had actually been the tipping point for my decision. Seeing him smile and laugh was better than a coffee with double shots of espresso. He had just made me instantly feel better, and I wanted to keep that. I wanted to keep that _safe._

So I'm selfish.

Sue me.

Now I knew what I had to do, all I had to figure out was how to do it. And from what my mom had said, if I didn't do it soon, well the whole world was screwed over.

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><p><strong>AHHH thickening the plot. :)<strong>

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**

**~Missmusicluver**


	36. Chapter 36

Waking up had brought more trouble than I was ready to really deal with.

"The funerals?" I asked, looking over to Dinah standing with her back to me at the door as I was getting dressed four days after waking up.

"Memorials have been set up and cash amounts have been provided to the families involved. A memorial site has been chosen. Engraved names for the victims and-"

"Has Luthor been found yet?" I asked, sitting down on my bed gently.

Dinah shook her head. "The League hasn't found him yet."

"And the maker of the bomb?"

Dinah's teeth clenched and she folded her hands across her chest. That wasn't a good sign.

"What?" I asked her.

She rotated her jaw. "We know his name."

My eyes widened. "You know his name!" I blinked at her in surprise and took a step toward her automatically. "Well, what's his name? Who is he? Does the League have a history with-"

"His name is Prometheus," Dinah cut me off gently. "I just found out not two hours ago."

"Who is he... or she?"

"It's a he. And he's nothing that Batman or I expected."

"And...?"

"His real name is Chad Graham. He's seventeen-"

"A minor-" i breathed out with wide eyes.

Dinah nodded. "And he's a certified genius."

That... didn't make any sense. "But he's a mercenary?" I asked.

Dinah nodded. "Pulling himself through different colleges and institutions. Traveling across the world can get expensive."

Money. Always money. Right. "So Luthor is financing him in exchange for..."

"Prometheus is also the one in charge of modeling and making the machine that caused the explosion at Proteccion."

I blinked and shook my head. "I don't understand. If he's so smart why is he Luthor's lacky and not just getting money on his own?"

Dinah raised a shoulder in indifference. "Clark says blackmail. Batman says he's using Luthor's influence to make his name more popular in the underground."

I nodded. "That would actually... make a little sense."

Dinah nodded and looked over at me with a careful expression. "Jez..."

Well, this wouldn't end well for me. I tipped my head at her and smiled. "What?"

She turned her whole body towards me and leaned in, hovering over my face. Claustrophobia came to mind, but i let her stare at me; her eyes mapping out my face and memorizing every imperfection she might have been seeing.

"I'm- ... Jez, I'm worried about you," she admitted, hovering closer to me. So, not claustrophobia, just trying for a maternal act. Right.

"Worried?' I echoed.

She nodded. "You collapsed-"

"I got better," I pointed out immediately.

"But the stress of it all got to you. You passed out and wouldn't wake up. You were in a legal coma. You-"

"Am back and completely fine. The multiple doctors you made me see made sure of that remember?" I reminded her.

She nodded and sat down next to me, scooting herself closer to me. Her warmth spread out across my chest and arms, making shivers run down my back and my muscles instantly relax. God I hope she forgives me after all of this is done and over with. "Jez, are you okay? Are you really, and a hundred percent, honestly, okay?" she asked me.

I smiled and leaned into her warmth. I was only going to have this for so long. "Yeah. I'm fine. Have been, actually,since the first time you asked."

She reached up and took my shoulder gently in her hand. Her thumb rubbed into my skin, leaving me warm and comfortable against her. "Don't get smart with me. I'm only asking because-"

"You care," i finished for her, amazed at myself in my own knowledge. "You honestly care."

She nodded. "I do, and I think that you're not exactly telling me everything."

I looked away from her and out towards the bedroom window. "Am I allowed to go out today?" I asked, changing the subject.

Dinah held on to my shoulder tighter before letting me go and standing up. "The doctor said you're fine to get up."

"Will you let me leave the house though? That is the real question," I smirked, glancing at her.

She smiled. "Could I actually keep you if I said no?"

I smiled back and opened my mouth to make a sarcastic remark, but then closed it with a sour grimace. She was most likely just joking, but for me, the question reawakened the insight of my previous decisions and a dark depression hit my facade before I could bring it up. "Yes. Yes, you could."

Dinah stopped smiling and turned back towards me. She walked to me and kneeled at my level beside the bed. "There it is again. That ... tone, in your voice..." she shook her head lightly and put her hands on my forearms towards her. "You can tell me if you're not alright, you know that right? You're allowed to not be okay. You're allowed to feel sick or tired. To feel done, or depressed. Sad or angry. That's normal. It's... expected really."

I meet her eyes head on and nodded. I knew that. She would be there if I needed to fall. I knew that now. I really did. Mom had said so in my …. dreams? Hallucination? Self conscious? Whatever it was, I _understood_ that she would be there for me. I knew that already. It was a fact. Not a trick or pity induced sentiment. She really would be there if I asked her to.

The fact was, I didn't want her to be. I wanted it to be like it was all those months ago in the cages when I was by myself for myself. Well, myself and Miranda, but still. It was easy, it was defined and controlled. It was practical and straightforward. This? This... relationship … was confusing. Backwards. Surprising and all too tempting.

To be attached. Like I already was with Dick... both of it was dangerous. Stupid really, I knew what was going to happen in the future, i was going to make sure it happened. _So this,_ this... whatever I had with both of them was conflicting. Hopeful and desirable.

Comfort and safety. That was promised with close relationships. Love and care. It was what I needed, I knew that. But what I was about to _become_ did not need it.

The thing, the _immorta_l that I was bound to become did not need safety. Not comfort, love or care. It needed space. Distance. Careful thoughts.

I needed to be that. To begin to act like the crust of person I was going to emerge as soon.

So I nodded to Dinah and faked a smile. Dinah didn't seem to buy it as well as I hoped she would. She already knew me too well, and that struck a chord of fear inside me. She could already brake what was left of me.

"I'm fine," I said with determination, not just for her but for me. "Honestly. I'll live."

Dinah frowned. "Are you... alright. If you think so."

I smiled. "I know so."

* * *

><p><strong><strong><strong>**

Dinah left later and I called Dick.****  
><strong>**

"Sidekick?" I asked, when the ringtone stopped.

"Dick's training right now," a deep voice informed my smoothly.

Well, that's a little embarrassing. Pet names in front of Daddy Bats. Right. "Bruce. Can I can talk to him for a moment? It'll be quick," I said, walking around my bedroom and grabbing a handful of random clothes into a bag on my bed.

"He's training," Bruce said with a note of finality.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "Fine then I guess you're playing messenger."

"Call later," Bruce stated, coming to end the conversation.

"I can't. I'm leaving," I said quickly before he could hang up. I didn't hear the dial tone, so I moved on. "That's all I wanted to tell him. I'll be back at …at some point, but for a while I'm going to lay low around here."

"Does Dinah know?"

"I'm telling her myself tonight." Kind of. I laid the note down on my pillow and turned away.

"Where are you going?" he asked after immediately.

I honestly didn't have the faintest. "Out," I answered.

"Why?"

"Need to sort through my thoughts. Reprioritize the decisions in my life," I lied easily.

"I would advise against this."

"You're not my mentor, guardian, or mission director. I appreciate your opinion, but it's not needed here."

There was a heavy silence from the other side. "Why are you really doing this?"

The lie I had planned froze in my throat and the line between us was silent for a couple of seconds. "I just... there's some stuff I need to do."

"Bring Dinah with you," Bruce more ordered that suggested.

I shook my head with the phone to my ear. "I can't. She'd try and stop me."

"Would that be for the best?" His tone sounded dry and near annoyed.

"No. It would just delay the inevitable. I wasn't given this to just leave alone. It needs to be used. Used and known instead of ignored and hidden," I whispered, zipping up my bag and throwing it over my shoulder.

"What were you given?" his own voice seemed softer, quieter, as if he was holding a secret for me.

"My gift. Power. Whatever you'd call it. I need to finish this. I need... I need to go." I slung the bag over my shoulder and made my way out the house, stopping only to get the motorcycle keys and wallet with my drivers license, and money. "Tell side- tell Dick I'll call after everything's over."

I prepared myself to hang up, but Bruce held me up for a second more. "Do you need help?" His tone of voice seemed sincere, and it almost stopped me short. Almost like he cared.

I smiled. _Yea- no_. "You couldn't help with this Bruce. No one really can."

"Jezebe-"

"By Bruce. Tell Dinah I'll be back sooner than soon okay? Bye." I hung up the phone and started the engine.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><strong>**Bruce turned to Dinah with this cowl down and the phone resting easily in his hand. "She's leaving right now."****  
><strong>**

Dinah nodded and crossed her arms over her chest. "The trackers are already in her bloodstream. I made sure she ingested them this morning."

Bruce nodded and turned to the holographic computer before them both in the batcave. he pressed a couple of buttons and the image changed to a birdseye view of Gotham city. It zoomed in closer, and a red dot appeared in the middle of the screen, moving rapidly towards the eastern side of Gotham.

* * *

><p>Mt. Justice was deserted. Everyone was gone; in school maybe, or possibly out on a mission, either way, I walked into a completely empty Mt. Justice. It was nice, it meant I didn't need to lie about what I was doing here and I didn't need to waste time disabling the camera's most likely fixed on my current position.<p>

Batman and Dinah would know I was here, but I didn't plan to leave them a very big trail to follow me with. I opened a holographic screen and hit into the codes in the system. I disabled the camera in the main room and the hallways.

Finished, I headed to the basement of the compound. The walls were yards thick in cement, had a single steel door inlaid with kryptonite, and had smooth black floors that made the large room seem darker than it really was. It was sound proof, and had a glass box in the middle of the room, the same size as a large school bus.

I swallowed the nervous energy rising up inside of me._ Just do it,_ I chanted to myself over and over as I walked closer to the glass box. _Do it and let's just finish it all. Once and for all. The ending to a Grimm fairytale._ The "red butterfly" title suddenly seemed a little ironic to me.

Originally, the glass box was meant for dangerous prisoners as a type of holding center, but the structure would also act as a great conductor of electricity. Something I'd really need. Reaching the glass room in the middle, I walked to the side towards the controls for the room.

I pressed codes into the control system and glass doors slid out of the main structure smooth and silent. I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my phone. I pressed an app at the top of the touch screen and plugged the phone into the control center.

Immediately, a loud female's voice echoed out around the room. **_" Countdown initiated. Twenty seconds._**"

I pulled away from the controls and stepped into the glass room with a tight chest. The doors slid behind me. No going out now. No backing up. "**_Nineteen seconds_**."

I sat down on the bottom of the glass structure, legs folded beneath me, and tried breathing out normally through my teeth. "_**Eighteen seconds**_."

I steadied my heart beat. I closed off my breathing into shallow pulls of my chest and cleared my mind into a bright emptiness. "_**Fifteen seconds.**_" The woman's voice echoed in my ears around the glass box.

_I guess I could have done this at any power plant,_ my mind reasoned in between the madness around me,_ but honestly, it would have been dirty, unhealthy, hell I might have died from over exposure before I finished. At least here I know that if my body is found, it won't be kicked over and hid in a dumpster._

"_**Twelve seconds**_."

I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my keys. I thumbed through the metal, stopping at a small metal oval at the end of the chain. I pressed the middle of the key trinket and a small metal knife popped out of the end. Clenching my teeth, I pressed the knife into the skin of my pointer finger, thumb and pinky finger. I switched the knife into the other hand and followed the process into the other hand.

"_**Eight seconds**_."

"Jezebelle," Dinah's voice whispered in front of me. Careful. Calm. Like she was talking to a head case. Damn it. _Shit. Oh Shit. No._ My head snapped up.

_Shiiiiiiiit. Wonderful._ It wasn't just Dinah. It was her, Batman and... well, Dick's face was expressionless. They were in uniform, standing together at the head of the cell, each staring impassively at me. Dinah's eyes were on my face, Batman's at the blood on my fingers, and Dick's at the keys laying beside me.

****They all stared. Sitting in the middle of a powered up criminal containment case. _Well, this looks bad. Really bad._ I stared at each of them in turn, to make sure they each held my eyes before I said anything. "This... this is not what it looks like."

Dinah's eyes narrowed. I couldn't see Batman or Dick's expression behind their masks, but I did see Dick turn away from me slightly.

"_**S**_**_ix_ _seconds_.**"

"Computer, power down," Batman ordered deeply.

"_**Five**_ **_seconds_."**

"It won't work," I stated quietly. Batman looked up at me, studied my face and glanced at Dick.

"Robin. Controls," he ordered.

"On it," Dick said back.

"_**Four**_**_ seconds_.**"

"Jezebelle..." Dinah whispered beyond the glass. "What are you...?"

I closed my eyes and pressed my bleeding fingertips together, clearing my mind. "I'm not committing suicide if that's what your thinking Dinah."

"No, you're just trying to become a God," Batman said immediately back.

I opened my eyes and stared at Batman through his mask. "Not a God Mr. Wayne, an immortal. There's a difference."

"None that I see."

"Then you need to look closer beyond the perspective of a microscope."

"_**Two**_ **_seconds_.**"

"Why?" Dinah asked, her eyes growing old and sad.

I couldn't meet her eyes. I wasn't going back on this and there wasn't time to explain. She just needed to trust me on this. "I will be back Dinah. Nothings changed."

"Everything will change," she whispered.

From beside Dinah, Bruce called to Robin, and Robin answered that the drive had been overridden. It was on a set course. "Maybe if I had more time-" I heard Robin say.

"There is no more time," I said, looking down at my clasped fingers. Blood ran down the sides of my hands and I closed my eyes again. I focused on the cells in my heart like I had with Miranda. I watched the blood flow, the veins open and close. I watched my heart beat once.

"JEZEBELLE-!" someone called.

"**_One_.**"

There was a flash of crackling energy in my left ear, a bright light behind my eyes, and a tightness in my arms and shoulders. My mind blanked, my head burst, my heart stopped, my fingers clenched, and pain of a kind I'd never felt before rushed across my skin and into my bones.

_This was it. No more. I was going to die._

* * *

><p><strong>Yea leaving this at a cliff hanger. Sorry for not updating in... yeaaaa sorry! Better late than never, right? Right?<strong>

**~Missmusicluver**


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